HBO Boxing held a press conference today at the Conga Room in Los Angeles to formally commence “Thunder and Lighting” which begins Saturday, Dec. 11, live on HBO at 6:30pm PT. The stellar card will showcase two of the most prominent and rising stars amongst the junior welterweight division as the World Boxing Association (WBA) 140-pound World Champion Amir “King” Kahn (23-1) takes on the WBA interim World Champion Marco “El Chino” Maidana (29-1) at the Madalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The highly anticipated bout will be televised live in the United States on HBO’s World Championship Boxing.

Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, set in motion today’s presser by introducing both fighters along with each member of their respective camps. He then went on to comment on the public’s desire for the fight, “There’s a handful of matchups…of course you have Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, but then you have this fight here, this is one of those fights that fight fans really want to see.” Through this bout, Golden Boy Promotions hopes to continue to cultivate the star power of Amir Khan in the United States. This bout will be his second in the U.S. and first in Las Vegas. In his U.S. debut he earned an 11th round TKO over former junior welterweight titlist Paulie Malignaggi (27-4) in New York. Khan’s second bout will be a step up from the first. Schaefer acknowledged that Maidana may be the biggest and most powerful star in the 140-pound division.

WBA Interim champ Marcos Maidana was first to address the press and made quick work of his contractual obligation to speak to the media. Maidana will be preparing for the fight in Las Vegas alongside world renowned trainer Miguel Diaz. He comments, “I am going to do everything possible to win this fight because this is an opportunity that was given to me and I was waiting for it.” Maidana is a powerful puncher that has an iron jaw. Some in the boxing community think that Maidana’s power will trouble Amir Khan, and that’s why they say the fight hasn’t happened in the past.

The WBA World Champ Amir Khan followed his opponents comments with a more detailed and insightful dialogue which he used to address his detractors. Khan said that “A lot of people think that this fight is between a puncher and a boxer, well…to be honest with you I think I am going to be coming into this fight as the bigger puncher, I hit as hard and with speed.” To legitimize his talk he is taking a flight out of Los Angeles and heading to the Philippines tonight. There he will meet trainer Freddy Roach who is currently preparing Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2) for a shot at a vacant junior middleweight belt against the disgraced Antonio Margarito (38-6) on November 13th. Khan promises to be fully prepared for the fight.

The December 11th undercard has not yet been finalized. Although, Richard Schaefer did say the card will feature Victor Ortiz (28-2-1) who is close to signing a deal to fight Andriy Kotelnik (31-4-1). Golden Boy Promotions is vigorously working with Don King Productions and should have a deal finalized within a day or two. Additionally, fight fans will have the opportunity to witness the much anticipated return of rising junior middleweight contender James Kirkland (25-0) who was recently released from federal prison.