Khan: Broner has to fight me at 147, I won’t go down to 140

By Boxing News - 03/24/2015 - Comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u41CtGsu2lY
By Scott Gilfoid: If Adrien Broner (30-1, 22 KOs) wants a fight against Amir Khan (30-3, 19 KOs), he’s going to have to come up to 147 to make the fight happen because Khan is saying he won’t drain down to 140 to take the fight.

Broner recently expressed interest in facing the 28-year-old Khan after his victory over John Molina on March 7th. Broner was rarely hit in the fight, and ended up still looking fresh and untouched at the end of the fight.

Broner later said that he was interested in facing Khan next, perhaps even at the end of the month. It’s unclear if Broner was serious or not, but whatever the case, Khan is now interested in facing him if he can come up to welterweight to make the fight happen.

Broner will be fighting on June 20th against an opponent still to be determined in Cincinnati, Ohio. Khan would be perfect for that date if their mutual adviser Al Haymon wants to put the fight together. That’s the big question.

Haymon has been pretty careful with the kind of match-making he’s done for both Khan and Broner in the last couple of years in order to keep them winning. But I don’t know if Haymon will want to put them together for a fight, because one of them will see their value diminished without it being a huge money-making fight.

“No one on his [Broner’] team has called me, and we’ve got the same advisor, Al Haymon…The only way it’s going to happen is if he fights me at my weight,” Khan said via Fighthype.com. “I ain’t fighting at 140. He needs to come up to 147 because he ain’t getting me to come down.”

I think it’s understood that Broner would be coming up to 147 to face Khan if the two of them were to ever face each other, but I don’t see Broner as being in charge of making his fights. That’s Haymon’s job, and I really don’t see him giving the green light to a Broner-Khan fight, even though it’s a fight that would be good for the sport.

Haymon is angling Khan for a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr or Manny Pacquiao. I’m not sure if Khan will ever get either of those guys, but it looks like that’s the fight that Haymon wants to make.

If Khan doesn’t get either of those guys, then Haymon will likely put him in with the next best thing in a fight against IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook in the UK at Wembley Stadium in London, UK. If Khan can win the IBF 147lb title, he’ll have title milking opportunities as far as the eye can see due to the IBF’s top 15 being a lot of less than dangerous fighters.

Of the IBF’s top 15, there’s only one puncher ranked and that’s Shawn Porter. Marcos Maidana isn’t ranked in the top 15 by the IBF, so Khan wouldn’t have to worry about him. It’s mostly just light hitters with marginal talent. If Khan can beat Brook for his IBF title, Khan will likely be able to sit on the IBF title for years and years unless he faces Maidana, Mayweather, Pacquiao or Keith Thurman. I see all four of those guys beating Khan.

As for Broner vs. Khan, I don’t see it happening anytime soon. It might happen in the future, but I see Haymon waiting until both fighters win world titles, and then milk their belts for a couple of years.

“No disrespect to Virgil hunter he is a great coach and I got endless love for him but me and Amir Khan can fight at the end of this month I haven’t taken any punishment I’m back in the gym and ready to make a fool out of anybody #AboutBillions #ABonNBC,” Broner said on his Instagram.

Khan will be meeting with Haymon next week for him to decide on who Khan will be fighting next. It’s not likely to be anyone good or anyone dangerous. It’ll be a welterweight contender, but that doesn’t mean that’ll it be a good opponent because there is a heck of a lot of fluff contenders in the division right now. I see Haymon picking out another fluff guy for Khan to beat.

“I’ve got a meeting with Al Haymon. I’ll find out something soon,” Khan said.



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