Khan: I’ve cleaned up at 140; I want Mayweather now

By Boxing News - 09/04/2011 - Comments

Image: Khan: I've cleaned up at 140; I want Mayweather nowBy William Mackay: Despite the fact that WBA Super World light welterweight champion Amir Khan still hasn’t avenged his defeat to light welterweight knockout artist Breidis Prescott, or fought Lucas Matthysse yet, Khan says he’s cleaned up the light welterweight division and is now ready to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. for his big payday next year.

Speaking with Sky Sports News, Khan said “It’s about experience and timing and I think it’s my time now. We want to jump there [welterweight division] because we have cleaned up the 140 lb. division. We want to jump in there with the best and beat the best…Maybe Floyd doesn’t want to get beaten.”

I don’t think Mayweather is worried too much about Khan. Mayweather is more concerned with Khan not being a big star in the U.S right now, and he doesn’t want to take the fight until Khan establishes himself. Khan didn’t help himself with his wasted fight earlier this year against Paul McCloskey. That a rather silly choice for Khan given that he was trying to build his name up in the U.S. So instead of taking on a big named American fighter that boxing fans are familiar with, Khan picks out an obscure light welterweight from Ireland, one with no power or hand speed.

Khan looked horrible in that fight despite winning. In his last fight, Khan defeated an old Zab Judah, the IBF light welterweight paper champion, after hitting him with a body shot that appeared low in a 5th round TKO. Khan was cranking down on the back of Judah’s head with one arm while tagging him with his free hand. Incredibly, the knockdown stood, while Judah rolled around on the canvas grabbing his groin.

Khan hasn’t cleaned up the light welterweight division. He still needs to fight Matthysse, Prescott, and should give Marcos Maidana a rematch. If Khan wins those three fights, then I’d say he’s pretty much cleaned up the light welterweight division, apart from still needing to fight Timothy Bradley, who I see as the best fighter in the division right now. Khan’s win over Maidana wasn’t much of a win, because Maidana was pounding the stuffing out of Khan in the last three rounds of the fight while the badly hurt and battered Khan was in the survival mode, trying to hold just to keep from getting knocked out. It was a fight that begged for a rematch because Khan didn’t prove that he was better than Maidana. He just proved that he can hold while getting battered. The referee stopped the action repeatedly in the last three rounds in crucial moments while Khan was getting pummeled by Maidana.



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