By Liam Santiago: In an interview with fight hype, Freddie Roach, trainer of Amir Khan, has stated that John Murray is a possible next opponent for the Bolton man. Roach said they are currently working on a deal with Khan’s number one challenger, Dmitriy Salita. if that deal can not be done then a Khan vs Murray showdown is very possible.

I have been a critic of Khan in the past but I have to applaud him for deciding to chase these fighters instead of ‘legend bashing’. Like many other boxing fans, I expected Khan to go after the likes of Morales and Barrera. However, Khan should not be too worried about Salita. The guy is not ranked in the top ten of his division but he is the number one mandatory challenger, so credit to Khan for chasing the fight.

If the deal can not be done and Khan and Murray do agree to fight, British fans are in for a treat ; a fight they have waited for what seems like an eternity to see. Khan’s confidence under Roach has soared and I am assuming Roach has watched Murray and said we can beat that guy. The only worry for the Khan camp will be the usual one, his chin. Murray is not the biggest puncher in the lightweight division. However, you do not need to be that heavy fisted to knock down Amir Khan.

Willie Limond, ‘the non puncher’, knocked Khan down and had him there for a big count. Murray’s pressure is what might get to Khan. Against Kotelnik, he looked poor when under pressure at times. He can get away with small flaws like that against Kotelnik, but any half decent champion would have took advantage of the situation.

However, the fact that this bout has not yet happened is not purely down to Khan. Khan has, in the past, stated that he wanted to fight Murray, but money issues got in the way. Like a lot of boxing fights, if there is a reason the bout should not go ahead it will be down to Murray.