By Liam Santiago: The clock is ticking. World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Amir Khan does not have a great deal of time to hang about, before he is forced to fight WBA interim light welterweight title holder Marcos Maidana. According to sources, the winner of Salita vs Khan, which is Khan, has only 90 days to fight Maidana, or be stripped off the title. Will Khan fight Maidana? I very much doubt it. Maidana hits about as hard as Klitschko, so this fight will not happen.
As the old Santiago saying goes, a champion’s legacy is built on how long he reigned. If Khan vacates, he will have been a world champion for two fights. In that time he defeated Andriy Kotelnik and Dmitriy Salita. Is that really such a great achievement. I am a big fan of Amir Khan but I do not want to see him run away from his title. When he beat Salita in 4 seconds or whatever it was, it did not matter that Salita was in no way worthy of a title shot because everyone said, ”It was a mandatory defence” or ”he had to fight him”. That’s fine. But is it fine to take the easy mandatory’s such as Salita, then run away when a tough nut like Maidana comes along?
I don’t care if Khan vacates to fight Tim Bradley or The Incredible Hulk. He should fight Maidana. That is what being a champion is all about. Standing your ground and keeping your title. What sort of a champion would Khan be if he vacated after two fights? Also, if he feels the need to vacate, why not vacate before the Salita fight, instead of giving the fans a fight they did not want to see.
Personally, I feel Bradley has way too much for Khan and it would be an unwise move for the Bolton man to make. I do not expect him to fight Bradley one bit, but there have been rumours. I expect him to fight someone like Zab Judah, Paul Malignaggi or Juan Diaz. Bradley is better than Khan with speed, power, footwork and boxing ability. Khan’s weak chin would not be the deciding factor in this fight. Bradley would box his socks off.
But for now, the clock is still ticking and my kettle is still boiling. Any day now I expect to hear the news, ”Khan has vacated his title”. Let’s hope he doesn’t. Adios.
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