By Scott Gilfoid: Former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO’s) is expected to announce his April opponent this week, and he’s talking about picking from one of three fighters: Josesito Lopez, Victor Ortiz and Vyacheslav Senchenko. The good news is those guys are not lightweights like Khan’s last opponent Carlos Molina. The bad news is two of those fighters are coming off of losses in which they didn’t perform well.
Khan said to Sky Sports “Josesito Lopez, Victor Ortiz, Senchenko, the guy that beat Ricky Hatton. There are few names that we have been put there…Whoever they find for me, we’ll find out in the next couple of days.”
I wouldn’t have mind to see Khan fight Ortiz or Lopez before they were beaten recently, but now it’s not quite as interesting. It’s still way better than seeing Khan fight a lightweight with no power, but it’s still not that an appealing match-up. I mean, I don’t expect Golden Boy to put Khan in with anyone that’s fighting well right now because the chances are too high that Khan will get knocked out again, so I guess this is about the best we can hope for in terms of a Khan opponent.
Senchenko beat Ricky Hatton in his last fight by a 9th round knockout last November, but in his fight before that, Senchenko looked awful in getting stopped by the feather-fisted Paulie Malignaggi last April. Senchenko was tamed with little more than a jab from Malignaggi. It was just an embarrassing performance from Senchenko through and through.
The only reason Senchenko was able to beat Hatton was because Hatton ran out of gas in the second half of the fight. Hatton was winning and looked like he was on his way to a victory, but he got tired. The fact that Hatton was able to come back after three years out of the sport and still dominate Senchenko in the first six rounds suggests that Senchenko isn’t a good fighter. I bet he’ll get picked for Khan if Manny Pacquiao doesn’t take Senchenko first for his April fight. Senchenko is in high demand right now because of his win over Hatton and because he’s perceived as a beatable guy with a flashy record.
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