Amir Khan heading towards showdown with Floyd Mayweather -- Guardian

By Kevin Mitchell, guardian.co.uk

There is a groundswell of opinion moving Amir Khan into the tricky arms of Floyd Mayweather, possibly in Las Vegas in July, the second slot reserved for the Bolton fighter next year by his American agents, Golden Boy Promotions.

It is a giant "if", of course, seeing Mayweather is not even certain to be at large after a court appearance next month to answer domestic violence charges.

But, after his extraordinary win over the Argentinian Marcos Maidana at the Mandalay Bay on Saturday night to hang on to his WBA light-welterweight title, Khan is the hottest property in boxing outside his friend Manny Pacquiao and the slumbering heavyweights, among them David Haye and the Klitschko brothers.

His trainer, Freddie Roach, says he wants Mayweather after Khan's next fight, which is scheduled for London on 16 April, possibly as a curtain raiser for Haye against Wladimir Klitschko in a heavyweight title unification fight in Las Vegas later that evening. There is much horse-trading to do before the rival promoters get to that stage, though. Khan, meanwhile, is oblivious to the fuss.

The scars of battle do not seem to run deep in his young psyche. Although he was roughed up around his face from the sledgehammer blows the Argentinian rained down on him, the champion later declared no lasting pain from what to the voyeurs present was a fight from hell.

His good friend Naseem Hamed, who had a couple of good wars himself, said he felt guilty about celebrating Khan's win, as he did not want him to suffer like that again. His trainer Freddie Roach admitted he momentarily considered throwing in the towel when Khan reeled like a Saturday night drunk in the 10th round. David Haye, the world heavyweight champion, could hardly believe his little pal came through it.

Alone among everyone who witnessed it, though, the fighter reckoned the day after that he was never in deep trouble, not even in that horrendous 10th session, which is destined to live in the archives as further proof of man's ability to both inflict and suffer extraordinary pain in the name of entertainment and sport.

While visual evidence suggested he was as close to disaster as it is possible to get without being rendered unconscious Khan said the following day over orange juice and fruit salad: "I thought I won the fight convincingly. I was hitting him with the cleaner shots. He was hitting a lot of his own shots on my defence.

"I think the best round he had was the 10th. But, you know what? He hit me with his best shots and he didn't hurt me. Even when he caught me with that first shot in the 10th round, I knew exactly where I was.

"We all know he's got devastating power. Look what he's done to 27 opponents. But I just kept cool. I remember in the early days when I got clipped I used to panic. Not now. I compose myself. I went back to the ropes, with my hands up and I saw what he was doing. He caught me two or three times after that, but he didn't hurt me.

"I knew he was going to slow down, that he only had another few little bursts in him. I knew after that he was going to be tired out, and I would control the round again. The last 20 or 30 seconds of the round my legs were fine and I was fine.

"I spoke to the referee in the changing room beforehand and he said, 'You can stand there taking shots until I think you've taken too many unanswered shots.' But in the 10th round, I felt okay. I didn't once feel I was gone. I think the whole fight will make my reputation in the States, and the 10th round especially. I took shots and I came back."

He's right on the last point. Punters will flock to see more of the same. Whether it is good for his longevity is doubtful - and Roach, surely, will not let it happen again. The warrior surfaced in Khan on Saturday night; he needs to be reintroduced to the cool, clinical boxer if he is to have any hope against the likes of Mayweather.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Mosley vs Pacquiao firming up — insider -- Manila Bulletin

By NICK GIONGCO, Manila Bulletin

MANILA, Philippines — Unless Juan Manuel Marquez suddenly decides to lower his demand or Andre Berto becomes an internet sensation overnight, expect Manny Pacquiao to make his ring return in 2011 against Shane Mosley.

“Looks like it’s Mosley,” said Pacquiao lawyer Jeng Gacal on Monday when asked about the chances of Marquez or Berto being picked over Mosley.

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is actually arriving this morning from the US to present to Pacquiao the proposals of the three fighters being eyed as the Filipino’s opponent in a fight penciled for April 16 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Arum has actually been batting for Mosley over the two since Mosley has outstanding name recall, something that is important in generating pay-per-view sales.

Marquez’s association with Top Rank’s rival Golden Boy Promotions – and the Mexican’s outrageous asking price – have made it almost impossible for Pacquiao and Arum to deal with the Oscar De La Hoya-owned outfit.

Berto is an attractive foe because of his youth and skills but his lack of appeal among casual fans also works against him being picked over the tried and tested Mosley, who remains a livewire foe even at the advanced age of 39.

Still, Pacquiao will try to go over the offer sheets of the three fighters since “he’d be the one fighting,” said Arum, who will joined by wife Lovee and his stepdaughter Dena DuBoef as they join Pacquiao in his 32nd birthday celebration this Friday in General Santos City.

Also planing in this Tuesday with Arum is trainer Freddie Roach and another Top Rank property, bantamweight Nonito Donaire.

Mosley has the inside track since he has given the most reasonable proposal to Arum with the assistance of his new adviser, rap mogul James Prince.

Source: mb.com.ph

Amir Khan wants Floyd Mayweather Jr after proving the chin can take it -- Guardian

By Kevin Mitchell, guardian.co.uk

In surviving three of the most awful minutes of his career en route to retaining the World Boxing Association light-welterweight title, Amir Khan ensured that he will be remembered no longer just for Breidis Prescott but for another South American of frightening power, Marcos Maidana.

Hours after their fight at the Mandalay Bay on Saturday night, seasoned and callow observers alike were talking of little else but the 10th of 12 rounds, one that reduced the disappointingly small crowd to a volley of gasps and ensured that Khan can now be sold in the US not just as an amiable stylist with a nice smile and a quaint, rasping accent, but as a crowd‑pleasing cash cow.

He wants no less than Floyd Mayweather Jr – if the American can avoid a prison sentence for domestic violence. But if Mayweather is still at large later in the year, Khan has one great thing going for him: he is not Manny Pacquiao, whom Mayweather has been at pains to handcuff in demands that have so far made a fight between them as hard to arrange as David Haye v Wladimir Klitschko.

This fight and this single round deserved a grander stage than a half-empty cavern that can hold 9,000 fans; those present and those watching at home on HBO and Sky will count themselves fortunate to have witnessed a career‑changing performance by Khan.

It will not take much to sell Khan‑Mayweather on the back of this.

Paradoxically, it was one of Khan's most naive displays. Yet, in that naivety – where the foot-on-pedal rushes of the Argentinian challenger drove him to the ropes, stripping the Briton of his great asset, mobility – Khan found something he knew was there, even if others doubted it: a heart the size of Bolton.

That heart was beating just as strongly the night Colombia's Prescott knocked him out in 54 seconds in Manchester two years ago – his life seems destined to be defined in dramatic cameos – but here, on his Las Vegas debut and after 12 weeks getting ready, he reached a level of fitness that some elite athletes could only dream about. It is what kept him on his shaking legs three rounds short of the finish line as Maidana battered him without reply and with every ounce of his considerable strength.

Remarkably, Khan got through it. Even more remarkably, he found some dregs of strength to trade with Maidana and nearly steal the 11th. Ultimately, though, he had to hang on as his little foe came at him again in the last round; had there been no bell, they'd still be going at it.

There were some ugly exchanges between a couple of members of both camps in the ring afterwards and Maidana almost fled the scene as soon as the scores were announced. Although he still thought he had won, he was decent enough to admit later that it probably was not the most appropriate response to a close fight.

The final judgment was 114-111 twice and 113-112, a fair assessment. I had Khan 115-112 ahead at the end of a contest that swung wildly, mostly Khan's way from rounds one to nine, and in favour of Maidana in a gripping conclusion.

It was almost over in the first round, when Khan cut his man in half with a left to the liver that him doubled up in agony on the canvas. Not many get up from such a shot, but Maidana must be made of a concrete-rubber mix, because he bounced up and got back into it. "I can still feel it now," the Argentinian said an hour after the fight.

He gave up a point in the fifth, when his flying elbow coming out of a clinch caught the referee Joe Cortez, an unfortunate misdemeanour. When Khan controlled the middle of the ring with his jab and free-flowing combinations, Maidana looked pedestrian. But he was not there to impress stylistically and took to charging with no pretence at defence, swinging from either hip.

Khan rippled pleasingly on the eye at the light-welter limit of 10 stones, a pound heavier than his opponent who, with his skinny Mohawk and sharp, dark eyes, resembled a bantam cock. He certainly scraps like one, having stopped 27 of 30 opponents before colliding with the iron will and surprisingly strong chin of the champion. But he had given up enough of the early rounds to be trailing throughout on all cards.

It is easy in these sorts of big fights for the winner to ignore the bad bits. Khan, with the ever-honest Freddie Roach in his corner, did not indulge himself in delusion. He admitted his mistakes: leaving himself exposed on the ropes and walking on to a couple of haymakers a novice could have avoided.

Roach reckoned he "almost lost the fight" by failing to stick to a game plan that had him circling to the right to avoid Maidana's trademark finisher. Less involved parties were less critical.

"I always knew he had the heart," the WBA heayweight champion, David Haye, said. "And, with all the training he's done with Freddie Roach and Manny Pacquiao, the best fighter on the planet, you could clearly see he's learned how to weather a storm. He knows how to kill the clock. The tricks he didn't know in the Prescott fight, he definitely knows now – and that's why he's still the champion of the world."

Haye also thinks Khan can beat Mayweather. "Mayweather's a boxer. He doesn't really close the range the way Maidana does. The shots Amir was getting hit with tonight are shots that Mayweather doesn't really throw. He is a box-puncher, keeps it long, looks for angles. I believe Amir is as quick as him – and could Mayweather take the onslaught that Amir was taking tonight? I've never seen Mayweather in that position. If that fight does happen, I'm backing Amir all the way."

Before he was led away for a brain scan at a local hospital, Khan managed one final smile though bruised lips to remind us: "What a great fight it was, man."

It was. And, now that he has shaken off his monkey, Khan is perfectly placed to provide plenty more great fights.

Source: guardian.co.uk