By Chris Williams: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer says that both Amir Khan (28-3, 19 KO’s) and Luis Collazo (35-5, 18 KO’s) want to fight the winner of the Marcos Maidana vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight on May 3rd. Earlier this morning it was announced that the Khan-Collazo fight was added to the card as the co-feature bout just before the Mayweather-Maidana fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Khan-Maidana match-up isn’t a bad fight, but I’m not sure if it’s going to be quite a big enough one to where fans are going to get excited about the winner of that fight facing the Mayweather-Maidana winner. It’s a winnable fight for Khan, as Collazo hasn’t faced anyone in his class since he was beaten by Andre Berto in 2009. Collazo did beat Victor Ortiz last January, but Ortiz isn’t the same fighter he once was and he never really was a solid guy.
What Golden Boy doesn’t need is to have Khan Defeat Collazo on May 3rd, but then fans still having major questions about Khan’s ability to compete against the best welterweights. While Khan and Schaefer is saying that a win over Collazo will show that he’s among the top welterweights, there are arguably a lot better welterweights in the division than Collazo.
I think he’s a good fighter, but on the top of my head I can name at least 20 welterweights that are better than Collazo, such as Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao, Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, Devon Alexander, Juan Manuel Marquez, Tim Bradley, Marcos Maidana…etc. If fans don’t see Collazo as a big enough win for Khan, then it could undermine Golden Boy’s efforts to use a win over him as a springboard for a Mayweather fight. A win over Collazo will just mean that Khan beat a guy that a lot of weltweights would have beaten.
“Both Amir Khan and Luis Collazo have made it known that they want a shot at the winner of the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana, so what better way for them to prove that they’re next in line than by fighting on “THE MOMENT” card on May 3?” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “These are two exciting former world champions and this fight has the potential to steal the show.”
If Mayweather has somebody else in mind for his September fight other than the Khan-Collazo winner then it won’t be so bad. The Khan-Collazo winner can then fight a viable contender like Thurman to prove that they belong with Mayweather. But I don’t see the Khan-Collazo winner as having proven enough to deserve to be in with Mayweather.
They should have to beat someone really good to get to Mayweather. If Khan beats Collazo, he’ll have beaten Collazo, Julio Diaz and Carlos Molina in his last three fights. Those aren’t the kind of wins that you’re looking for when you’re thinking about a potential Mayweather opponent. With Collazo, if he beats Khan, he’ll have defeated Victor Ortiz, Khan, Alan Sanchez and Miguel Callist in his last four fights. Those aren’t huge wins either. Collazo should have to beat someone that is at the top of the welterweight division to get a shot against Mayweather, and you can’t count Khan because he’s never fought at 147 before other than a catch-weight fight against an over-the-hill Julio Diaz.
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