Khan, Bradley, Maidana, Alexander: Who’s Ducking Who?
February 15th, 2010
By Alexander Fugate: The junior welterweight division is probably the deepest and most talented in boxing today. Timothy Bradley and Amir Khan have been getting a lot of press lately. Edwin Valero with his 27-0 record with 27 knockouts has been campaigning at lightweight but is expected to move up to junior wellterweight for his next fight. There have been many stories of fighters ducking other fighters in this talent-rich division lately.
It appears Bradley the WBO champion has been complaining of not being able to find an opponent, claiming everyone is scared of him. Devon Alexander fired back saying Bradley is scared of him and forfeited his WBC title in order to avoid him. JBradley is reportedly scheduled to fight on Showtime in June with no opponent announced yet. Campbell would seem a good choice for Bradley. Most feel Bradley was easily handling Campbell. Pair that with Campbell having some name recognition and it could be another easy win for Bradley with a legitimate opponent.
Khan and Maidana are both accused of ducking Bradley. Knockout artist Edwin Valero is apparently another on that list now. After improving his record to 27-0 with all victories coming by way of knockout Valero’s promoter Bob Arum had publicly expressed interest in matching Valero up with Bradley. Valero has been fighting at 135 but is supposedly going to move up to 140 in his next fight. However, after Bradley’s manager got Bradley to agree to fight Valero in Mexico and got Showtime to agree to hold a date for the fight, Arum couldn’t be contacted and has been silent on the issue since.
Khan, Maidana, and Valero all seem to be ducking Bradley. And Bradley appears to be ducking Devon Alexander. Nate Campbell has also called out Bradley for a rematch. Bradley has been whining that he can’t find any opponents. Campbell is right there and most expect would be an easy Bradley victory. Still Bradley could choose another legitimate opponent for June. After that though, Bradley needs to face the winner of Alexander-Urango. Otherwise he will be just as guilty of ducking as everyone refusing to fight him is.
Khan is supposedly ducking not just Bradley, but Maidana too. If Khan vacates his title for refusing to face Maidana after his next fight, there will be no doubt of him avoiding the best in his division. Hopefully all this ducking and dodging is resolved. Having Bradley face the winner of Alexander-Urango and Khan fight Maidana would make many boxing fans extremely happy. If a Bradley-Alexander/Urango winner fought a Khan-Maidana winner it would determine the best in the division and could make the winner closer to a household name and a PPV attraction. It could also open the door for a fight against either Mayweather or Pacquiao at 147. Right now all of these fighters would no doubt cherish a fight against either of the two biggest superstars in the sport today. However, until they prove they are the best in their own division it’s hard to argue they deserve such a fight and the payday that would come with it.
Tags: 35 Responses to “Khan, Bradley, Maidana, Alexander: Who’s Ducking Who?”
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Khan is certainly at the front for title of cherry picker , give me Kev Mitchell everytime.
kahn is a cherry picker and a disgrace
khan will beat malignaggi and than madiana
khan move division to avoid this valero dude… it seems that valero’s trying to move up as well, to get a decent fight to his resume.. what now khan? move another class..
I can’t believe people on this site believe Khan has the most skills? BRADLEY IS #1, he beats anyone @140! He ducks no man! Why should he fight Campbell again? He beat Campbell up, and Campbell quit because he knew he was gonna lose… Cut or no cut, Campbell was done! Bradley wants Alexander, he had to fight Campbell first, unifying two belts at the same time is kinda impossible( people on this site don’t seem to get this)? I wish Hatton or Khan would step up to Bradley, he will put on a clinic and send them back to england crying.. I can’t wait for the other guys to step up and face Bradley. Bring on Maidana, Alexander, Urango!!! Bradley will out box all these guys! Anyone who believes otherwise will think about this article and say Brandon called it… Oli I know you feel me! Bradley take these 140 pounders out one by one!!!!!
we already have scott gilford go way you are not needed
not suer about valero stepping up in weight…. he may even be a better puncher than before with that extra bit of stregnth. amir khan has the best tools out of the bunch but the weakest chin… its a 50-50 with him. bradleys the man to beat with his all round game. madainas very very dangerous with his power and the rest im not sure…. all in all its a great division with top fighters with contrasting styles….lets get them fighting each other soon!!!
oh and one more thing!! dont discount victor ortiz!! just cus he lost to hard hitting madaina dosnt make him bad suddenly… he could be the suprise fighter and come out on top!
Valero and Khan dont quite make the mustard. Bradley and Devon are quite sensational fighters.
bradley ducked devon
bradley chose to fight campbell instead of alexander. who was a bigger name then and still? it’s smart of arum to kill talks of bradley vs valero cause bradley would hault valero’s gravy train. campbell is scheduled to fight ortiz i believe and we all know nate aint gonna do squat against bradley. judah would have been a good name but he still thinks he’s a superstar. how about ricardo torres? he gave cotto and holt good fights and has real pop. something that only holt had over bradley during his hot streak. another possiblilty would be hatton. ricky says he wants another big name for his farewell bout. bradley doesn’t have knockout power and ricky can give himself a good assessment before bradley took over. my point is that bradley deserves a big fight.
I think I will hold my judgement until the end of the year, but its not just the Junior Welterweight division theirs problems with ducking all over. The fights I was hoping to see happen Pacquiao v Mayweather, Khan v Maidana, Klitschko v Haye, Paul Williams v Kelly Pavlik don’t seem to materialising and why… because of the money. Boxing used to be about fighting the No. 1 challenger, unification bouts and putting the top names in the ring together, in the older days it was fights with the likes of Jake La Motta v Sugar Ray, Hagler v Hearns, Ali v Frasier and Foreman, Lennox Lewis v Holyfield etc those guys ducked no one, but today it’s the very trend. Promoters choose to take an easy route and make fights with no hopers or lesser talented guys, just so they can keep them winning and making more money (can’t earn top dollar with a loser). And when it comes to the inevitable possibility that two big names must fight they either vacate the belt, move up a division, feign an injury or in Floyd Mayweathers case the needle scandal (because we all know that Pacquiao could be the one to smash the Pretty Boy’s face in, now that I’m certain of). Khan can beat Maidana, not a simple task mind you but he has the skills, ability and a great coaching team in Freddie Roach’s camp (only question is will he after the fight with Malignaggi). Mayweather and Pacquiao will take place it has too, most likely November time. As for the Junior Welterweight division Bradley, Alexander or Valero may sooner or later unify the division I think it will come down to who really wants to beat the best and make a legacy for themselves rather than someone who held one of the belts for a while.
Mr Honkie
Amir Khan fought his mandatory and know he is allowed a voluntary fight and then will fight his next mandatory after the Paulie fight… Learn about boxing and then comment…
As for ducking, I don’t think anyone is ducking anyone most of these fighters have just made a name for themselves in the past 12-18 months… Jeez people give them time they will fight each other…
khan is a puma tracky with no chin
I REALLY THINK WHEN ITS ALL SAID AND DONE IT GOING TO BE MAIDIANA AND BRADLEY TO UNIFY TITLES!
I totally agree with Steven, who I think uses his loaf, whilst others are just loafers
Amere con is a waste of space, the u.s can have him I will only tune in to see hom get wacked on his little chin chinny
Amere Con ducks any fighter who is still in their prime. Amere Con only fights aging boxing with his cheating headbutt tactics. Amere Con tried to fight another aging boxing legend that was too small for him like the fraud he is. Amere Con is terrified at fighters who are still in their prime like Marcos Maidana.
@Booth
To point at people and say you don’t know nothing about boxing is disrespectful. I can say the same thing about you like the statement you made about MAB saying Khan punches never hurt him but one of the hardest puncher in featherweight history Naseem Hamed couldn’t hurt MAB with his amazing power so who is Khan. MAB lost 7, 1 within the distance which was also by the towel being thrown in.
Also you say Hatton can take a punch we all pretty much saw how his punch resistant is after the Mayweather, Callazo, Lazcano and Paquiao fight.
I can’t say you don’t know much about boxing because it’s your opinion and everyone is entitled to their own opinion and we should all respect that
Take care.
@ Booth
I have followed boxing for over 20 years now and have seen all of the present light welterweights fight numerous times. So if I think that Khan is the most talented of them then that is my opinion and I am entitled to it, it does not make me a “khan fanboy” whatsoever. To be honest I have been annoyed that the guy has been on PPV over here as only now at this moment does he justify that right.
Yes, anyone can beat anyone on their day but really… thats a load of bull. Bookmakers and so forth can second guess outcomes and so can I therefore I believe Khan would beat Hatton. I did not say by KO as everyone knows Hatton can take a punch… well, we think he still can. So for me to say Khan can beat Hatton is not “stupid” at all because he can just like Hatton can beat Khan. Im just saying it how it is and every bookmaker would back me.
I am a fan of boxing and have seen hundreds of fighters come and go over the years so I know what I am talking about. I wanted Khan to take on Maidana and was disappointed when the fight didn’t materialise it would of been a good chance to for him to change a few opinions, or not, but at least he would of fought someone dangerous. I like Malignaggi and feel this is a good test of skills as Paulie is a slippery customer but you and I both know Khan will win.
“Khan, Maidana, and Valero all seem to be ducking Bradley.”
I think you are making some rather large assumptions. I reckon , if Valero doesn’t struggle to step up his weight and keep his skills in tact then he will bust Bradley up.Now, Arum is a snake and i have said this before but, have you considered that he is waiting to see who is going to take the bait? And that his silence is part of his match-making tactic?
I realize once you have something on your mind you want to write about it but perhaps you should allow some time to pass before you start slinging around ‘knee-jerk’ opinions such as these.
To give fans what they want a tournament like the super-six should be set up. that way the best would have to fight the best.
Khan is not ducking everybody, hes accepted a fight with my Granny, but Freddie has stipulated that my Granny fights at 110 lbs but Khan can be at 147lbs
yeah i agree with comment below all this ducking nonsence is just stupid talk from people who dont actually know anything about boxing. Khan wants a big name to get his name out there in America. Remember when Naseem Hamed fought Kevin Kelley in Madison Square Garden? Naz became hugely popular in the states immediately after he won that fight. Khan is looking to do the same thing.
Think about this people, if Khan fights Maidana in America who the hell is gonna be interested in that? Apart from hardcore boxing fans, that is not gonna generate any interest as both are not known in USA. It would be a british fighter fighting and argentinian fighter. American public would not take any notice. Khan is looking to get his NAME out there in America to earn MONEY boxing is a business people.
Nobody is ducking anybody. The fights that take place, tend to be the fights that make business sense.
khan and maidana the best in this division, by a stretch1 maybe in ayear or 2 tho it ul be valero. thats guys a bulldog man, takes a punch to.(or an elbow, haha) im tekllin ya that one of the meanest elbows ive ever seen, if valwero can give and take it like that there wont be much that ul stop him. maidana valero ud be a amazing fight, would nt last long but id love to see that happen
@ bulldog
and Hatton made you look like superstars ….. when you guys were shouting out there is only one ricky hatton he landed flat on his ass …no one called him arrogant ..but yet Khan is still hated ..Asians can never make it in the UK …..look at jay saun made a superhit in america nothing in britain ………
maidana when it’s all said and done is the best 140
I see Khan as the strongest in the divison even though he was KO’d by Prescott. Why do I say this? Khan is the only one who could beat Hatton in my opinion and Hatton would beat all the rest of them.
Valero is the only unknown quantity as we really do not know how good he actually is. We thought De Marco would be a good way of finding out but as soon as Valero started landing De Marco just closed down.
It is the most exciting division and if we can get them all matched up over the next 18 months or so then I’ll be watching every moment.
kahn is crap who has he beat to derserve credit!?!? malignaggi is poo aswell 5kos in over 20fights wonder why kahn chose him over maidana kahn is making england look like wimps no wonder we all hhate him!
Well for a start…Bradley is ducking nobody.
Hatton is ducking khan and bradley.
Khan is ducking everyone.
The Welterweight division is at a much better level than Jnr Welterweight.
Pacquiao, Mayweather, Mosley, Cotto, Margarito, Clottey, Berto. Most of them are proven, world class boxers.
All of the stars in the current Jnr Welterweight are relatively unproven.
Bradley’s problem is he can’t attract crowds.
No crowds, no money, no fight.
I dont think anybody is ducking but going the way they are told by managers and trainers.I think it will end up with Khan vs Bradley in a good boxing matchup.
Khan has to beat paulie in style which i think he can.
@WTF. Great screen-name you have there, ironically appropriate.
Khan having a difficult night with Malignaggi???
NAFHIH!!! lol.
Quality article, it’s nice when a wrietr manages to keep his personal opinion out of his writing for the most part. Gilfoid take note!