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The cowboys wearing their 10-gallon hats, boot-lace ties and alligator boots are in town for their rodeo grand finals as the branding of Amir Khan begins in earnest.
On Saturday night an equally dedicated young Englishman will engage an Argentine gaucho in a deadly shoot-out.
Yes I Khan: Amir spars with his trainer Freddie Roach ahead of the title fight
Gunfight at the Mandalay Bay. The selling of the boy from Bolton around the globe requires him to dice with danger in this gambling capital of the world. Marcos Maidana carries a punch like a kick from a mule and Khan's speed of fist, foot, reflex and movement will have to be at their most electric to keep the world light-welterweight title.
Reassuringly, he has never looked in more predatory condition as he prepares to subject his allegedly suspect chin to a thunderous test while putting his lightning skills in the shop window of trans-Atlantic television.
The successful marketing of Britain's sporting ambassador for Anglo-Muslim relations - both here through the HBO network and back home via Sky Box Office - depends on a stellar performance in this clash of styles.
Dazzling boxer against deadly puncher. The public at large have yet to tune in completely to either Khan's brilliance in the ring or his substance as a human being with the intelligence, humility and strength of character it takes to straddle the racial divide.
The challenger: Marcos Maidana
Now, in his debut in the prize-fighting mecca of Las Vegas, Khan comes to his opportunity to excite the imagination as well as reinforce our admiration.
Maidana is the most threatening of all Khan's rivals for domination of boxing's 10-stone division. Although an Englishman against an Argentine is not the most magnetic draw in the Nevada desert - the arena is being configured for just over two-thirds of its 12,000 capacity - a blistering performance here followed by another big fight in England in the new year can launch Khan towards genuine stardom. That is what he craves, more than the money:
'I am starting to earn millions now but I will be happy to end up just financially comfortable. 'If the choice is between being filthy rich and leaving a brilliant legacy in the ring then I take realising my dream of succeeding Manny Pacquaio as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. I could earn even bigger purses if I had every fight in England but I have come to America early in my career so I might become a global superstar.'
That is no more than his ability, commitment and self discipline deserve. Freddie Roach has not only honed 'my second Manny' to physical perfection but has imbued Khan with smiling enthusiasm for the sometimes brutally intense development of his talent.
Watching boxing's master trainer, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's 21 years ago, taking Khan's ever more powerful combinations on his hand pads and body protector can be alarming. But Roach says: 'This is what helps keep the disease at bay. Financially I could retire but if I had reacted to the problem by just pulling up the covers in bed I would probably have been dead a long time ago.'
This extraordinary denial of the affliction which has silenced Muhammad Ali is rooted in the enjoyment Roach, Khan and Pacquiao derive from their work together.
'It's not like a job if you love what you do,' says Roach. 'And who in boxing wouldn't love working with Manny and Amir?' Roach picked up Khan after he was knocked down and out by Colombian puncher Breidis Prescott in the first-round shock which raised serious doubts about the resilience of his chin.
Now he says: 'Maidana is more dangerous than Prescott but Amir has worked so hard to improve himself that he won't be caught like that again. Any boxer can get knocked out if he's not balanced and sharp. Amir now is not only getting even faster and hitting harder but he is much more organised defensively.'
Maidana's sequence of 27 KOs in 29 victories - against, like Khan, just one defeat - include a heavy majority of stoppages in the first three rounds.
Roach says: 'We've drilled into Amir the need to be wary early on. Nor will he get sucked in when Maidana sits back on the ropes waiting to land his big right counter. And he will not rush in like crazy even if he knocks him down because this guy is also very dangerous when he's hurt.
'We have a good strategy for breaking Maidana down. Amir will dominate this fight with his speed and power and I expect him to take out Maidana some time after seven or eight rounds. And it will be impressive. The world is about to see how good your boy really is.'
Maidana accepts that he is slower but believes that one mighty connection with his blockbuster right will render obsolete all calculations of a sizeable Khan lead on the scorecards of the three neutral Las Vegas judges.
He says: 'Amir can't avoid my right for the entire 12 rounds and when it lands I will be the new world champion.'
However, if it does connect and Khan survives then the last question mark against his potential for ring greatness will be removed. Khan is plotting a route through unification of the light-welterweight belts to a showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jnr. They would be monster fights next year.
To clinch his end of the deal, Khan must spike Maidana's firepower here in Mayweather's home town. Expect Khan to do so in style, either by a points landslide or a late stoppage which will have our cowboy friends hooting and hollering their appreciation.
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