Amir Khan versus Floyd Mayweather this time next September ? Do me a favour. There have been reports this week that Richard Schaefer, and Golden Boy Promotions in the United States are lining up Amir Khan to face Floyd Mayweather Jnr this time next year. Poppycock. Merely tabloid ruminations.
There’s about as much chance as two bald men fighting over a comb of that fight happening. Khan, like most burgeoning fighters, will say he wants the fight, but it won’t happen. Mis-match, from this perspective.
The story was based upon ruminations from Schaefer, and if perception is reality, then this portion remains distorted. Khan is already a world champion, yet he is still a developing boxer. In simple terms, and I have a great deal of time for Khan, he will simply not be ready to fight Mayweather after three more fights.Mayweather is far too advanced for Khan at this stage. I don’t buy the argument that Khan’s hand speed makes him a credible opponent. Mayweather has far too much in the locker for Khan. Two years time, minimum, for Khan to make the two or even three steps up in class to fight the best counter-fighter out there.
I think Schaefer’s remarks on this have been taken out of context. He was merely ruminating out loud at Khan’s press conference in London last week to publicise the British fighter’s contest with Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas in December.
No. Forget Khan. The compelling fight remains Mayweather against Pacquiao. That is the contest Schaefer - and the sporting world – wants to see. There is bathos in the anticipation of the Pacquiao v Margarito contest on Nov 13.
As Boxing Monthly put on its cover this month: Pacquiao v Margarito is The Champ versus The Cheat. No holding back there. The good guy/bad guy combination is set. Let’s hope Pacquiao can deal with Margarito’s size.
If Pacquiao is successful, expect Christmas negotiations to begin again between Top Rank and Golden Boy to get the two boxing legends together.
Boxing slumbers without that fight. The sport has suffered this year with Mayweather, and to a certain extent Khan, Carl Froch and David Haye not having fought since April/May. Not good enough, really. It should be every three to four months.
This week, on mma journo Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour, Haye suggested he will not be around longer than another year. Let’s hope that is not the case. He would be a great loss to the sport…just as the sport is on the cusp of getting excited about the things he could achieve in the heavyweight division.
Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk
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