By Scott Gilfoid: Former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO’s) is saying that his next fight in April of 2013 will be for a world title at light welterweight, and he then plans on fighting WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia in a rematch/unification bout after that.
Khan said to Sky Sports News “In April I’m looking at being in a fight in the 140 pound division for a world title, and then unifying it with the Garcia fight, if he gets through his fight with Zab Judah.”
Wow, this is interesting. Khan’s getting another title shot after beating then little 5’6” lightweight Carlos Molina last Saturday night. I’m kind of surprised that Khan is getting a title shot, and I’m also kind of shocked that his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions are going to let him fight for a title without giving him a real test with an actual light welterweight with halfway decent skills. But then again I guess that would be too dangerous for Khan, so I’m not surprised that they’re going to try his luck by putting him in with one of the 140 lb world champions.
I have no clue who Khan is going to be fighting for a world title in April, because the only champion that Khan can fight in April is IBF champion Lamont Peterson, but that fight isn’t going to likely happen because Peterson has a title defense coming up against Kendall Holt in possibly February. The winner of the Peterson-Holt fight won’t have enough time to prepare for a fight against Khan in April, so it’s not going to happen.
Khan won’t be fighting the WBA/WBC 140 pound champion in April because those belts belong to Danny Garcia. The WBO is Juan Manuel Marquez, and unless the World Boxing Organization decides to strip him of his belt in early 2013, Khan isn’t going to be fighting for his title either. But if the WBO does strip Marquez, then Khan would be fighting for a paper title because his opponent would likely be someone like Ruslan Provodnikov, the #2 WBO contender. I don’t see how Khan can fight for the WBO title, though, when he’s not even ranked in the top 15 by that organization.
I think Khan is dreaming if he thinks he’s going to be fighting for a world title in his next bout because there’s no one available to fight him, and he’s not going to all of a sudden get ranked in the top 5 by the WBO just so he can get a title shot against a belt that is still in possession of Marquez.
It’s understandable why Khan would want to have a world title in his possession when he faces Garcia again, because he’ll get a much better deal in the negotiations than he would if he didn’t have a title belt. Still, Garcia will be the one with two titles, whereas Khan would have only one, and depending on how he picks up that world title strap, it might be a near worthless title.
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