By Jim Dower: Amir Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) says he wants a big name in 2015, and he’s hoping that he can get a fight against either Floyd Mayweather Jr or Manny Pacquiao, preferably both next year.
Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya thinks Khan would give Pacquiao some difficulty due to his talent and fighting style.
“As I was watching myself get demolished by Manny Pacquiao [in 2008]. I couldn’t help but think about Amir King Khan giving Pac some serious problems,” De La Hoya said on his Twitter.
De La Hoya needs to contact Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank if he firmly believes that he’s got the talent to give Pacquiao “serious problems” because it doesn’t look like Khan will be getting a fight against Mayweather.
We saw Mayweather dismiss Khan as a worthy opponent due to him not having the name recognition to make it a worthwhile fight. Mayweather said that Khan’s fight against Devon Alexander this month sold around 4,000 tickets for the 16,800 seat MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. That’s not even half capacity in terms of tickets sold. Mayweather is looking for big names that can bring in pay-per-view buys in the United States, and it appears that Khan would be no better than Mayweather’s last opponent Marcos Maidana.
Khan and Pacquiao sparred with each other in the past with Khan reportedly doing a good job during the sparring sessions. With that said, both fighters had head gear on and large gloves that cushioned the blow. A real fight between Pacquiao and Khan would likely play out in a much different manner than their sparring sessions would.
At this point, Khan would likely jump at the chance of facing Pacquiao if the fight were offered to him. Khan, of course, might hold out for the Mayweather fight if he still thinks he’s going to get that fight, but it wouldn’t be a wise move for him. If Mayweather stands firm with his lack of interest in fighting the 28-year-old Khan then we could see Khan miss out on a fight against Pacquiao.
Khan has already said that he’s not interested in fighting IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook, who he feels isn’t at the same level as him. If Khan were to turn up his nose to a fight against Pacquiao then he could be stuck without any big fights at all in 2015. For this reason Khan needs to say yes to the Pacquiao fight if De La Hoya can get it for him.
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