Khan wants Katsidis or Maidana – Casamayor is also in the picture

By Sean McDaniel: WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) is continuing to say that he wants either WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (28-1, 27 KO’s) or WBO lightweight interim champion Michael Katsidis (27-2, 22 KO’s) next. On his Twitter page, Khan said that he has told his promoters to get him Katsidis or Maidana next. The 38-year-old former WBC lightweight champion Joel Casamayor (37-4-1, 22 KO’s) is also being considered as a potential opponent by Khan’s Golden Boy Promotions team.

That fight is less appealing than the Katsidis or Maidana fights, because Casamayor will be 39 by this July and hasn’t done much since being stopped by Juan Manuel Marquez in an 11th round stoppage two years ago in 2008. If Khan can’t get fights with Maidana or Katsidis, then there might not be much other choice than to fight the 40ish Casamayor. Khan has already fought one aging star, the 36-year-old Marco Antonio Barrera in 2009.

It might be slightly off-putting for Khan’s boxing fans if he goes after another aging star. It can help build up a fighter’s name that, to be sure, but it’s not exactly the ideal way to become a star that way. Khan would be better off looking at someone a little younger, and ideally someone in his own weight class rather than picking fighters from the smaller weight classes to go after and beat.

Khan did, until last year, fight at lightweight, but he’s put on weight and moved up to light welterweight. It would be an advantage for Khan to face a lightweight and ask them to have to move up to light welterweight to fight him rather than taking on the best fighters at his own weight class like Devon Alexander, Timothy Bradley or Victor Ortiz.

The fight against Maidana might not happen for Khan by July, though, because Maidana is nursing a back injury and it’s doubtful his back will have had enough time to help by July 31st, which is when Khan wants to fight again.

Katsidis defeated Kevin Mitchell by an impressive 3rd round TKO on May 15th, in front of a large British crowd at Upton Park. For this reason, Katsidis would be the ideal pick for Khan because Katsidis is well known in the UK from that fight and his 5th round stoppage win over Graham Earl in 2007. Khan could play up the revenge factor, even though there was no love lost between him and Mitchell. Again, ideally it would be better for Khan to fight someone in his own weight class rather than to have a smaller fighter three inches shorter than him like Katsidis picked to be his opponent on July 31st.

It’s going to give the impression to some fans that Khan is being carefully guided to avoid facing the best fighters in his own weight class. Khan recently defeated the light hitting Paulie Malignaggi in an 11th round stoppage on May 15th. However, Malignaggi had no power and was never considered to be a threat to Khan, even before the fight was signed.

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