Marcos Maidana fires back, calls Amir Khan a liar

A possible December 11 fight between Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana is really heating up. Maidana was interviewed by FanHouse, and had a lot to say about Khan, namely that he thinks the British star is afraid of him.

"Amir Khan is a hypocrite. Because he says one thing in front of the camera. Like, that's when he'll say that he badly wants to face Marcos Rene Maidana. But then when it comes to being behind closed doors and when he's talking to our promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, he says that he wants to stay away from Marcos Rene Maidana. ... I want to knock Amir Khan out, but not simply because we would be fighting in England, because I have nothing against the English. But I want to knock him out because I want to knock him out."

There's much more from Maidana on Khan, including his response to Khan saying that Maidana is pricing himself out of the fight. The interview is definitely worth reading in full, so click the link above. Maidana doesn't talk a whole lot, and Khan does. Now you get the other side of the story.

Maidana (28-1, 27 KO) has a fight on Saturday in Buenos Aires against 36-year-old DeMarcus "Chop-Chop" Corley, a respected but faded 14-year veteran. Corley doesn't take the best punch anymore, and Maidana is filthy powerful. Victory is not in the bag, but Maidana is obviously the heavy favorite this weekend.

It's been an odd sort of year for the 27-year-old "El Chino." He was set for two dates with Timothy Bradley, but those fell through, and the last it was mentioned, there was some sort of dispute between Maidana's management at the time and Golden Boy Promotions about whether or not Maidana was actually hurt as was the claim. A fight with Khan was put off with excuses/reasons for it not happening coming from Freddie Roach, Khan's trainer.

Now, with that fight being Khan's most attractive option, the Brit titlist is saying that Maidana is asking for too much money. Keep in mind Khan has a crazy high guarantee per fight from Golden Boy, and that Maidana says money hasn't even been discussed.

It's all good set-up for a December 11 fight between the two, which boxing fans are craving. Nobody thinking logically can dismiss Khan's pure talent. He has arguably the fastest hands in the sport, great boxing skill, and no matter how big he talks, has fought to protect his iffy chin since teaming up with Roach. Maidana has the big punch. It's a fight that could have anyone in the world on pins and needles no matter how big a lead Khan might build. That fight could end at any time. Khan has the ability. Maidana has the raw power.

It's compelling, and both fighters and their promoter know it. Expect a little more trash-talk milking. Hopefully, at the end of it, we get the fight.