(Photo credit: Idris Erba/Mayweather Promotions) By Scott Gilfoid: At the post-fight press conference last night, WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) was asked to respond to the comments made by former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan about Mayweather being slower, easier to hit and beatable after his 12 round unanimous decision win over Marcos Maidana (35-5, 31 KOs) last night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mayweather could have really unloaded on Khan in front of then media by pointing out how he’d been knocked out twice in losses to Breidis Prescott and Danny Garcia without attempting to avenge the defeats, but Mayweather took the high road by mostly complimenting Khan.
Mayweather did, however, point out that while Khan has been losing every now and then each time he’s tried to step it up a class, Mayweather has continued to win and remain a world champion.
Mayweather sees himself as having been at the top all this time while he’s watched Khan’s career progress temporarily and then falter with him losing to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia. Khan currently is on a 3-fight win streak, albeit against mostly older lions from the past like Julio Diaz and Luis Collazo instead of the relevant fighters from this era.
“Amir Khan is a solid, good competitor,” Mayweather said at the post-fight press conference last night. “If that fight happens to come my way, then we’ll make it happen. When Amir Khan was an amateur, I was a champion. When Amir Khan turned pro, he got knocked out, I was a champion, and when Amir Khan got knocked out again, I was champion. When he lost his belt again, I was still champion and I’m still right here.”
Khan is pushing for the Mayweather fight in May if next year. If Khan doesn’t get the fight at that point, then he’s going to need to wait until 2016 for a possible final chance at getting Mayweather in the ring. Khan has Ramadan in September of 2015, so he won’t be able to fight Mayweather at that time. It’s got to be May of 2015. If not then, Khan’s last chance will be in 2016.
If Eddie Hearn, the promoter for IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook, negotiates a fight with Khan in the first quarter of 2015, then Khan will have taken himself out of the running for a Mayweather fight simply by signing for the fight for Brook.
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