Live on Sky Box Office: Sun 02:00. The Daily Star’s Kevin Francis is in Las Vegas for Amir Khan’s third defence of his WBA world light-welterweight title against tough Argentine Marcos Maidana.
I have never seen Amir Khan looking so relaxed and confident before a contest and, in all honesty, I simply can’t see him losing this one. I just can’t see a repeat of that ‘Breidis Prescott’ moment when he suffered the only defeat of his 24-fight professional career with a stunning 54-second KO at the hands of the Colombian back in September 2008.
He sacked trainer Jorge Rubio after that reversal and recruited the legendary Freddie Roach, trainer of more than 20 world champions – including Manny Pacquiao. He has won all five of his fights since that shrewd move and never lost a single one of the 31 rounds he has fought in those bouts. He’s a great learner and looking more and more mature. No wonder Roach calls him a model professional!
I’ve been in close quarters all week with Khan, who is a best-priced 6/17 with bwin to be the outright winner with Maidana an 11/4 chance with Betfred. Khan should win against KO specialist Maidana, who has dumped 27 of his 29 victims on the canvas, but those odds look a bit prohibitive.
I always prefer the round-by-round betting in contests like this and, for those who want value for their pay-per-view fee, there is always the chance of the bout going to the judges.
Suggested Bet: I fancy the faster Khan to finish Maidana off in the sixth at odds of 18/1 with Sportingbet and Unibet. For those who think it could be a points win for the Bolton bruiser, you can have 13/5 with Paddy Power, and William Hill.
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Happy punting
Kevin
