By Scott Gilfoid: #2 WBO, #4 IBF, #5 WBC Tim Bradley (31-1-1, 12 KOs) says he’s up for facing #1 WBC, #2 WBC Amir Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) if he’s open to taking the fight.
Bradley says he’s not afraid to face the 28-year-old Khan, and if he really wants to face him then he should contact his management to try and make the fight happen.
Unfortunately, it’s not likely that Khan will agree to a fight against the 31-year-old Bradley. Khan is looking for a big payday fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao for his next fight, and it’s not likely that he’s going to want to risk getting skinned by Bradley.
I mean, if Khan isn’t interested in fighting for a world title against IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook and making millions from that fight, then it makes sense that Khan wouldn’t be remotely interested in getting in the ring with Bradley to trade with him.
“If you look at Amir’s career and look at mine, it speaks for itself,” Bradley said via Dontae’s Boxing Nation. “If our lanes cross, let’s do it. Amir is one of them. I’ll fight you, Amir. I’m not afraid of you. Let’s fight. Let’s make it happen. Come talk to my people. Talk to my manager. We can make it happen,” Bradley said.
Bradley’s coming off of a disappointing 12 round draw against Argentinian slugger Diego Chavez in his last fight in December. Bradley suffered a lot of facial swelling on the left side of his face in that fight, and he’s going to need some time to recover from it. However, it doesn’t mean that a fight against Khan still couldn’t take place in April or May if Khan were interested in taking the fight, but it’s not likely to happen.
If Khan is looking to play it safe until he gets a fight against Mayweather or Pacquiao then someone like Bradley would be the last guy that he’ll want to get inside the ring with.
The trouble that Khan could have is if he continues to be ignored by Mayweather and Pacquiao beyond 2015. If Khan is going to play it safe each time against either aging fighters or light hitters, then he’s basically going to wind up stunting his own career by keeping himself from getting more popular due to him playing it safe.
The only way Khan can establish a fan base in the United States is for him to stop fighting the soft jobs and step it up against someone like Bradley and Brook.
Bradley would be a problem for Khan with his hand speed and his power. Bradley isn’t a big puncher, but when he loads up on his shots, he’s got enough power to hurt you. All he would need is one good shot to Khan’s chin or neck area and he might be able to take him out of there the same way Danny Garcia and Breidis Prescott did when they knocked him out.
Khan is managed by Al Haymon, and that probably means a fight against Bradley is out of the question.
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