Khan: I want to be the first to beat Mayweather – I’ll be ready in 2012

By Boxing News - 09/28/2011 - Comments

Image: Khan: I want to be the first to beat Mayweather - I'll be ready in 2012By William Mackay: IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (26-1, 18 KO’s) figures to be ready to take on and beat undefeated WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (42-0, 26 KO’s) next year in 2012 after Khan defends his International Boxing Federation strap against the light hitting Lamont Peterson on December 10th.

Khan may fight once more at light welterweight or welterweight before his promoters from Golden Boy make a major push to get Mayweather to take the fight against Khan next year.

Khan said this on his twitter: “To be the best you have to beat the best, and I want to be the first to beat him [Mayweather]. [In] 2012 I will be ready and no I ain’t looking past Peterson. It will be a mega fight even though Floyd based me for having 2000 unsold tickets the [Zab’ Judah fight in Vegas. His [Mayweather] fight vs. [Victor] Ortiz there was 1200 tickets given away and 3000 tickets unsold and that’s in his hometown.”

It doesn’t really matter how many fans show up in Las Vegas. Nowadays, the fans purchase fights on PPV. That’s where you really see the popularity of a fight unless they’re backed by huge loyal following from a foreign country. I think it would be a disaster if Khan had his fight against Lamont Peterson put on PPV, because I doubt it would sell even 50,000 buys in the U.S. No one really knows who Khan is in the U.S other than hardcore boxing fans.

If Mayweather does decide to face Khan, it won’t be a bigger fight than Mayweather’s fight against Victor Ortiz because Ortiz was already well known in the U.S and had a large following among Mexican fans. The U.S doesn’t have a massive Brit population, so a fight between Mayweather and Khan is really premature at this point. It will likely still happen because of the pressure being put on Mayweather to fight the guy, but Khan won’t be a huge fight.

Khan isn’t ready for Mayweather yet. Khan needs to wait around six or seven years until Mayweather is in his 40s before I’ll give Khan a chance, and even then I doubt Khan will beat Mayweather. I don’t see Khan being a relevant fighter in six years, because he’s going to have to take some major shots if he’s to survive in the welterweight division unless he’s going to be facing weak fodder opponents for the next few years. I wouldn’t put it past Khan, but if he faces Mike Jones, Ortiz, and Andre Berto, Khan will be knocked out by all three.



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