By Scott Gilfoid: Former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) is saying that he’s been offered the next fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. (48-0, 26 KOs) this year if he’s interested in taking the fight. However, Khan, 28, has a fight at the end of this month against former WBO 140lb champion Chris Algieri (20-1, 8 KOs) on May 29th that he has got get through first at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Khan also says that Manny Pacquiao’s team and they also said they want to face him.
If Khan can win that fight then there is a possibility that he can get a fight against Mayweather if the offer that Khan is bragging about is an accurate one and not a mere figment of Khan’s imagination.
You never know with some fighters what reality is and what is merely wishful thinking on their part. Khan’s been flapping his gums for ages about wanting to fight Mayweather, but he’s not made it easy to get the fight by facing nothing but 2nd tier opposition or fighters with an inflated ranking ever since his stoppage loss to Danny Garcia in 2012.
“I think the fight is there [against Mayweather],” Khan said via BBC Radio. “I spoke to [Mayweather Promotions CEO] Len Ellerbe, his manager, I saw him in the media room and he came over to say ‘hi…he’s [Mayweather] ready when you are.”
Until we hear something official from Mayweather or Ellerbe themselves about being interested in facing Khan, I would withhold judgement about what them being interested in facing Khan. On paper, it’s not a good fight for Mayweather if he wants to make money from his next fight. Khan is an unknown in the U.S in terms of being known by casual boxing fans, and Mayweather could arguably make a lot more money fighting Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Miguel Cotto, Danny Garcia or Gennady Golovkin. I believe those guys are better known that Khan in the U.S and bring a lot more to the table. Golovkin would be an ideal opponent for Mayweather if the Kazakhstan fighter could come down to 154 to fight him or perhaps a catch-weight at 152 with perhaps a rehydration clause to keep Golovkin from rehydrating over 165. It would be a fight in which boxing fans wouldn’t know who the winner would be, and that would make it a lot bigger than if Mayweather were to face Khan, who arguably has been beaten in three out of his last seven fights. I believe that Julio Diaz was robbed of a decision over Khan in their fight in April 2014 in a fight that took place at the Sheffield Arena in the UK. There wouldn’t be any suspense in Mayweather fighting Khan because the British fighter has a lot of losses already on his record and he still hasn’t redeemed himself since his back to back defeats at the hands of Garcia and Lamont Peterson.
“I think Mayweather’s team are wanting the fight. But then – on the other hand – I’ve even spoken to Manny’s team and they said the same thing. (They said), ‘Look Amir, I think it’d be good to have the fight between you and Manny next,” Khan said. “So, I’m in a position where I could fight either guy but I think Mayweather’s the one I want, because I really believe I have his number.”
Unless Khan is talking about having Mayweather’s telephone number, I think Khan is in dream land. He doesn’t have Mayweather’s number. Heck, Khan doesn’t even have Breidis Prescott’s number. He was knocked out by him in the 1st round in their fight in 2008 and Khan never avenged the loss. I believe that Khan either needs to avenge at least one of those defeats against the four guys that beat him, or he needs to take on WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman as a prerequisite and prove that he can beat him before he can get a fight against Mayweather. I say four defeats because like I said, I had Julio Diaz beating Khan in a fight that I thought was a pure robbery in 2013.
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