The storyline to Amir Khan's fight with Marcos Maidana was natural: fighter perceived as having flaws facing fighter perceived as being able to expose those flaws.
The anticipated moment in the story of Khan-Maidana would come in Round 10. Michael Rosenthal of RingTV.com:
The problem was that Khan couldn't hurt the tough-as-they-come Argentine even though he landed 190 (of 360) power shots, the only exception being an excruciating body shot that put him down in first round.
That allowed Maidana (29-2, 27 KOs) to attack with abandon and land his own telling punches. He was able to score inside, many times with uppercuts, but he also landed some wild shots from a distance. That included the punch that instantly turned Khan’s legs into wet noodles.
Khan did more than save the victory however, Rosenthal writes:
It might be an exaggeration to say that Khan saved his career by surviving the knockdown and the final two rounds but that’s not far off the mark.
Had he lost, he would have suffered two brutal knockouts in a span of two years and been saddled forever with the reputation of having a weak chin. He probably never would’ve reached the heights he and many others have imagined.
With the victory, big things lie ahead. Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, his promoter, said Khan probably will fight in April in England. He said Victor Ortiz, who drew with Lamont Peterson on the undercard Saturday, and Zab Judah are possible opponents.
After that, Schaefer said, he would pursue a showdown sometime during the summer with the winner of the Jan. 29 fight between Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander for supremacy of the deep 140-pound division.
Meanwhile on Saturday, there was the artificial storyline created by making a tournament between four of the top fighters in the bantamweight division. Beyond top fighters facing each other, there would now be the question of who would win and go on for a chance to install himself as the man at 118.
The pairing of Yonnhy Perez and Joseph Agbeko was actually a rematch of what had been a thriller, one which Perez had won. This rematch would not be a repeat, however, both in how the action fared and how it ended. Here's Doug Fischer, also of RingTV.com:
For nine minutes the two bantamweight rivals rekindled the energy they produced in their first bout by exchanging furious combinations in close quarters. However, Agbeko returned to his punch-and-move strategy at the behest of his corner, headed up by chief second Adama Addy, and controlled rounds eight through 12 to the degree that a discouraged Perez abandoned his trademark stalking and tried to box with the talented Ghanaian from a distance in the final three rounds of the bout.
The result was disappointingly one-sided in favor of Agbeko.
Abner Mares would take a split decision over Vic Darchinyan. Fischer, once more:
Mares (21-0-1, 13 KOs) suffered a nasty cut along his hairline in the first round that bled directly into his left eye during much of the fight. He was dropped in the second round, and docked a point from referee Bobby Howard for low blows in the fourth. The Southern California-based Mexican contender couldn’t have had a more difficult start to the most significant fight of his 5½-year career.
However, his rock-solid chin, dogged determination and concentrated body attack kept him in the fight long enough for his constant pressure and punches to Darchinyan’s midsection to pay dividends.
Although Mares continued to walk directly into the flush power shots of Darchinyan over the second half of the fight, he scored with sweeping left hooks -- one of which produced an off-balance knockdown in the seventh round -- until the older fighter was forced to retreat to the ropes and hold for dear life in the late rounds.
The storylines continue.
Khan moves on toward shots at the 140-pound throne, having proclaimed his viability in a division run by Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander. Agbeko and Mares will face each other in the bantamweight tournament's finals, while Darchinyan and Perez will meet for the consolation prize and a chance to regain some momentum.
No matter the origin of the the storylines, natural or artificial, these next chapters could be page turners.
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