Khan stopped Malignaggi in the 11th round in his last outing

Amir Khan will defend his WBA light-welterweight title against Marcos Maidana on 11 December at the Mandalay Bay hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Argentina's Maidana, 27, is the Briton's mandatory challenger, whose impressive record includes 27 knockouts from 29 wins, and only one defeat.

"It's the fight the fans want and he's a tough operator," said Khan.

The 23-year-old California-based Bolton fighter defeated Paulie Malignaggi in his last outing in New York in May.

It was Khan's first fight in the United States and after he stopped Malignaggi in his home city in the 11th round, he vowed not to leave the light-welterweight division until he had unified it.

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Maidana fought more recently, in August, and went the distance for only the third time in his career to clinch a unanimous points victory over DeMarcus Corley.

Khan, who had claimed Maidana was pricing himself out of the fight, wanted to bring the contest to England.

"Hopefully this fight will silence the critics," added Khan.

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