Khan to still fight on July 23rd even without Bradley

By Boxing News - 05/01/2011 - Comments

Image: Khan to still fight on July 23rd even without BradleyBy William Mackay: Even if WBC/WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (27-0, 11 KO’s) decides not to face WBA champion Amir Khan (25-1, 17 KO’s) next on July 23rd or not, Khan will still be fighting on that date against one of three possible opponents picked out by his promoters from Golden Boy Promotions. The guys that they’re looking to put Khan in with are Erik Morales, Robert Guerrero or Zab Judah.

It’s doubtful that Guerrero, a lightweight, will be getting the call but there is an outside chance that he could be the one if Morales decides to face Marcos Maidana next. Judah, the IBF light welterweight champion, would bypass a fight with Khan if Juan Manuel Marquez decides to take the fight with Judah. The chances of that happening, however, aren’t good because Top Rank has made an offer for Marquez to fight Pacquiao next after Pacquiao’s bout with Shane Mosley next month on May 7th. Marquez will no doubt take the fight with Pacquiao to get a much bigger payday than he would for the Judah fight.

Although Bradley badly wants to fight Khan, the money that HBO has offered to him, a reported $1.3 million, is only $100,000 more than what he’s already been guaranteed by HBO for his next fight. Bradley could face anyone and still get $1.2 million. It’s understandable why he wouldn’t want to face Khan for only $1.3 million when he’s practically getting that already and can get the payday by taking on someone soft and less risky.

As for Khan, Guerrero and Morales are arguably easier fights for Khan than if Golden Boy were to put him back in with the hard hitting Maidana or with Breidis Prescott. Those are two opponents that would have a good chance of beating Khan and knocking him out. Morales and Guerrero don’t hit hard enough and are really smaller fighters than him. Morales has fought most of his career at bantamweight and only recently moved up to light welterweight. He doesn’t have the power that he had in the lower weights. Thus, Khan’s chin wouldn’t be at risk in that fight. And Guerrero is currently a lightweight hasn’t been fighting at that weight for very long after moving up from the super featherweight division. Guerrero isn’t a big puncher and is someone that beats his opponents by sheer accumulation of shots.

Those are two safe opponents for Khan and will likely keep him winning. Again, we would be seeing a continuation of a trend where Khan is steered away from big punchers and put in with guys that aren’t as dangerous for him. Judah can punch but his work rate is anemic at this point in his career. Judah’s become totally reliant on uppercuts. If Khan could avoid getting close to Judah, he should win that fight.



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