By Jason Kim: Amir Khan had a great opportunity to get a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013 if Khan had just fought a little smarter last weekend against the good but very beatable WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia.

Khan looked superb on offense, but left himself open long enough to get knocked down three times and ultimately stopped in the 4th. The loss was a staggering blow for Khan’s career to say the least, because it will likely take him a couple of years to get back to where he was going into the Garcia fight. By then Mayweather Jr. will be 37, and probably no longer fighting.

Khan will have to win all of his fights for a long period of time before he’d be given a shot against Mayweather, and right now it’s hard to imagine Khan because able to win a couple without suffering another loss. He’s already lost his last two fights to Lamont Peterson and now Garcia. For Khan to get back to where he was, he’d have to knock off some big names at light welterweight such as Lucas Matthysse, Ajose Olusegun, Juan Manuel Marquez, Mike Alvarado, Josesito Lopez, Marcos Maidana, Erik Morales and Ruslan Provodnikov. The boxing public isn’t going to give Khan a free pass if his promoters at Golden Boy match him up against four or five lesser fighters such as journeyman or guys that no one has ever heard of.

If Khan wants the Mayweather Jr. fight, Khan would have to get right back in the thick of things by going after someone like Matthsse, Maidana, Lopez, Marquez, Provodnikov, Morales or Olusegun. Khan would have to convince Golden Boy that this is the direction wants to take his career, because they’re likely going to slap on the training wheels again and keep them on for a long time. Khan won’t get the Mayweather fight if he follows a soft diet because fans won’t be fooled. They’ll know he’s facing soft opponents and won’t buy into the act.