Amir Khan still not saying when he’ll fight again

By Boxing News - 04/10/2017 - Comments

Image: Amir Khan still not saying when he’ll fight again

By Scott Gilfoid: Amir “King” Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) was supposed to be taking a tune-up fight in April or May to test out his surgically repaired right hand before taking a bigger fighter later this year, but it looks like he’ll be skipping the tune-up. So what we’re looking at from Khan is more inactivity. That’s bad news for Khan. He’s been taking it slow with his career since he was tripped up by Danny Garcia. That loss was a real big setback for Khan, and he’s been spinning his wheels doing pretty much nothing with his career ever since.

Khan plans on fighting after Ramadan. Just who Khan will be fighting is the big question. He says he’s going to be looking for a big fight, but he hasn’t fought since May of last year. If Khan faces someone too good, he could wind up gassing out after 5 rounds like he did in his 6th round knockout loss to Saul Canelo Alvarez last May. That was a gift fight for Khan because he got a chance to fight Canelo for his WBC middleweight title. Khan didn’t deserve that title shot in my opinion, because he wasn’t a middleweight and had never fought in that weight class before.

I don’t know what kind of shape Khan will be in when he does fight after Ramadan. He might need to wait until the end of summer to be good condition to fight. My guess is we could be looking at August or more likely September before Khan gets back into the ring to resume his career. That’s almost a year and a half of inactivity for Khan. I don’t think that’s smart. I think Khan needs to fight someone like Saul Corral, the guy that Josesito Lopez fought last night. Khan needs someone that won’t hit him back and push him, because he’s likely going to be very rusty when he does start fighting again.

”I want to give fans the biggest and most meaningful fights rather than just any opponent,” said Khan on his social media site. ”I’m feeling good and at just 30 my aim and focus is to win another world title. I’ve spoke with Al Haymon and there are several big fights out there which we’re working on, which I’m sure you’ll all love,” said Khan.

Khan is burning through his career by staying active for long stretches of time. Before his fight with Canelo last year, he’d fought just once in 2015 against Chris Algieri and twice in 2014 against Devon Alexander and Luis Collazo. Khan fought only once in 2013 against Julio Diaz. If you ask me, Khan is not getting the most out of his career.

An ideal fight for Khan would be against either Danny Garcia or Kell Brook. I’d be surprised if Khan takes either of those fights. I’m expecting Khan to take on another Algieri level opponent rather than someone good, because he’s not shown any inclination to take on the best since he was stomped by Danny Garcia in 2012. There was just that one fight against Canelo Alvarez last year in which Khan fought a good fighter. That was a no lose situation though because it was a big PPV fight on HBO. It didn’t matter if Khan lost the fight or not because he was getting a big payday out of the fight.

“To give an update, I’ve just arrived back in the UK after spending nearly 4 months in training camp in San Francisco,” said Khan. “In the meantime, I’m going to keep training while I’m back home and look forward to announcing some big news for after Ramadan,” said Khan.

It would have been good if Khan had fought in April because at least he wouldn’t have been out of the ring for an entire year. It would be 11 months instead of say 12 to 18 months. But with Khan not taking a tune-up before his next big fight, he’s wasting time with his boxing career and not getting the most out of it. Khan should probably take the Brook fight and cash out with it if Kell doesn’t get battered and beaten by Errol Spence Jr. in their fight next month on May 27. If Brook wins that fight, then Khan needs to take it before someone does a number on Brook, again. I don’t see Brook lasting too much longer before he gets beaten for a second time. Khan needs to face Brook while the two of them are still relatively popular.

Khan was hoping to get a fight against Manny Pacquiao this year, but that match failed to happen because the money didn’t come through for their fight in the UAE.

Given Khan’s inactivity, I see him losing his next fight if his management puts him in with a good opponent. Khan has basically been a part time fighter since 2013. That’s 4 years. When a fighter becomes a part time fighter, they often lose a lot of their game. Look Oscar De La Hoya. He became a part time fighter in the last few years of his career, and it impacted his career in a big way.