A rocking job to do

Las Vegas: Not so much as a scintilla of doubt emanates from the rugged, angular face of Marcos Maidana as the Argentine knockout specialist details how he will rock Amir Khan's world at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, just off The Strip.

Maidana, the son of a gaucho (an Argentine horseman) holds dynamite in his right hand and might draw on the dark tradition of this graveyard for British fighters in the Mojave Desert. Sin City has done for the careers of several British fighters, among them Naseem Hamed, Frank Bruno, Barry McGuigan and Ricky Hatton.

Khan makes his debut here. Maidana has made this oasis in the desert his training camp home for three months. "All it will take is one punch," the 27 year-old country boy says.

He has a rock-like quality in physique and outlook. Maidana could not be greater in contrast to Khan, whose flashiness grows by the fight, with his bling and braggadocio.

At media appearances this week, Maidana has pinned a smile to his sharp cheeks, but has carried himself with the air of a man dragged reluctantly on a Saturday afternoon shopping trip to the high street. He admits that he is more at home on a farm.

Record bashing

Maidana, poker-faced, glances across at Khan as if he were a piece of meat. Not the type you would eat. More that you would butcher. "I've watched Khan's fight with Andreas Kotelnik [to whom Maidana lost on points, and whom Khan beat on points to earn his world title]. I've seen his victories. I know he has a padded record, and so far, he's overrated and over-hyped. I know he is very fast, that is clear, but I can end this fight with one punch. He doesn't have that kind of power." Maidana was downed by Golden Boy's one-time golden boy, Victor Ortiz, in June last year in California when they met, but then came back to stop Ortiz in the sixth round. He has stopped 27 of his 29 opponents.

Maidana, the mandatory challenger to Khan's WBA title, grew up humbly, in Margarita, a village of 5,000. It is only an hour on horseback from there to the birthplace of the great Carlos Monzon, who held the world middleweight championship for seven years.

Hunting instinct

Maidana's parents may have been poor, but their family never went hungry. Hunting and fishing, tending cattle and riding horses, he and his eight siblings lived off the land. "If I hadn't boxed, I'd have spent my life working there. I would have become a gaucho like my father, hunting and fishing at weekends."

It is understood that Maidana's purse is $500,000 (Dh1.836 million) for this contest, with a win bonus on offer if he can upset the favourite. "I started boxing aged 15 when a local man, Ricardo Linari, opened a boxing club in Margarita. I just seemed to be able to knock people out, and that power has stayed with me." He went to 25 straight wins, 24 inside the distance, until meeting Kotelnik in February last year. He lost, on a split decision, despite dominating and damaging Kotelnik's face.

"I was over-confident, and I won't fight like that again," Maidana said.

Trained by compatriot Miguel Diaz, a fast-talking character in the sport, now 78, the team have hatched a game plan based on pressuring Khan at every opportunity. "Marcos has to apply pressure and not let Khan find his rhythm and set the pace," Diaz said.