By William Mackay: When I say the best fighters, I’m not refereeing to Dmitriy Salita, even though the World Boxing Association oddly ranked him as the number #1 mandatory for WBA champion Amir Khan recently. I want to know when is Khan going to take on the very top fighters. Do boxing fans have to wait until Khan is older. I read something recently where Freddie Roach, Khan’s trainer, said that it took eight years to make Manny Pacquiao the fighter he is today.

The problem with that notion is that Pacquiao was already a champion long before he ever met Roach and had been one since 1998. That would make Pacquiao only 19-years-old when he won his first title. But are we supposed to wait that long before Khan faces a dangerous threat like Marcos Maidana, Devon Alexander or Timothy Bradley? Why do we have to wait?

It seems to me if Khan is given a free pass to fight anyone he pleases without anyone saying anything about it, how is that fair to boxing fans? Yes, Khan is 23, but does that mean we have to wait until he’s 30 before we see him against a dangerous opponent.

I don’t see anything that will be different in the future other than that Khan’s fans will have another excuse for him, maybe along the lines of Khan being too old to take on the best. Come on, if Khan is the WBA champion then it’s time that he start acting like one and take on some fighters that will push him and give him a chance to show what talent he has.

I’d like to see Khan face Breidis Prescott again and prove that he can take the Colombian’s shots without being knocked out again like he was last time in his 1st round KO last year. I could care less that Prescott has been beaten in back to back fights by decision. I still would like to see if Khan can take a big shot from Prescott. If Khan can’t, then so be it.

All it means is that Prescott will have saved Khan from an eventual knockout loss to fighters like Maidana and Bradley. I’d much prefer that Khan fight Maidana, Alexander or Bradley immediately, but if he’s still reluctant to do that, then come on and fight Prescott at least. I don’t want to see Khan go after old codgers like Jose Luis Castillo, Eric Morales or Juan Manuel Marquez.

That’s not even interesting. I don’t know that Khan can beat Marquez, but I still don’t like the idea of Khan fighting a smaller and older fighter like Marquez, who was recently beaten. That looks bad to go after a guy that was just dominated badly by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his last fight. Roach sees Khan as a future star and someone who could be as good as Pacquiao someday.

If Roach really feels that way, then how about putting Khan in with a good fighter instead of an older Marco Antonio Barrera or a badly over-matched Salita. Do we have to wait a certain amount of years for Khan to age more for him to fight the best? Why is Khan holding onto the WBA title then? Other than Pacquiao, the next highest opponent for Khan is Juan Diaz.

Frankly, I see that as another Salita. Diaz looked horrible against light welterweight contender Paulie Malignaggi in his last fight, and seems too small for the light welterweight division. Diaz needs to move down in weight and quick because he’s going be floundering real soon. I wouldn�t want to see Khan face Diaz, but before long I bet that’s what we’ll see.

I really don’t see Khan fighting Maidana. Not now, not ever. Unless Maidana is beaten to a pulp and exposed by someone, I can’t see Khan stepping it up and fighting him. I’d like to see it, but I just don’t think Khan will. The same goes for Alexander and Bradley. Maybe in eight years, eh?