By Sean McDaniel: Coming off of his impressive 1st round knockout win over mandatory challenger Dmitriy Salita, World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Amir Khan is looking for bigger mountains to climb and would like to get a shot against former IBF light welterweight champion Ricky Hatton later on in 2010. Khan must first get by WBA interim light welterweight champion Marcos Maidana, who the WBA has ordered Khan to fight next. However, once that fight is out of the way, Khan will be free to go after Hatton for a fight that will likely break records in the UK in terms of pay per view buys.
Khan had this to say about fighting Hatton in the Heraldscotland: “I would hate to get to the end of my career and look back at it and not have had the chance to fight Ricky Hatton. I still think Ricky has a bit left in him and I think he also has something he wants to prove to himself after the defeat by Pacquiao. I’d hate to get to the end of my career and look back at it and not have had the chance to fight Ricky Hatton.”
Hatton, 31, is coming off a 2nd round knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao in May 2009, and he might not want to take on a faster mover like Khan in his first fight back from suffering such a bad knockout like the one he experienced in the Pacquiao fight. There’s questions in the minds of boxing fans whether Hatton’s punch resistance has gone down since his 10th round TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2007.
To add to that problem, Hatton has put on a great deal of weight since his defeat to Pacquiao and needs to take the fat off before he’ll be in any kind of shape to fight someone as young and talented as Khan. There are rumors that Hatton could be facing Juan Manuel Marquez. However, Hatton might need more time to train before he can fight someone as dangerous as Marquez, who will be fighting in May.
Khan says “Obviously, I have a mandatory defence of my WBA title to make [against Maidana] and Ricky probably would want a warm-up fight but maybe later in the year it could happen. It would be the type of fight that would be great at an outdoor venue like one of the big football grounds.”
Khan might be looking ahead a wee bit. Maidana is a huge puncher, and it’s not a certainty that Khan will be able to get by the Argentinean in one piece without being knocked out again. Khan was destroyed in one round by Breidis Prescott in 2008. And since that time, Khan has been in with mostly light punchers. Khan’s trainer Freddie Roach will have to put together a perfect plan which would include a lot of movement for Khan to beat a hard puncher like Maidana, that is, if Khan doesn’t vacate his title.
About Hatton, Khan says “I think I would beat Ricky and I also believe that maybe his style is good for me and the way I box. But Ricky is a proud fighter and he would maybe see a fight with me as a great way to go out on a high. We are at different stages in our careers and maybe the timing would be better for me than it would be for him but that is the way it sometimes goes in boxing. Fighters cross each other at different stages in their careers but I think it would make for a great fight.”
Hatton would be a huge test for Khan. He hits very hard, and is a much better inside fighter than Khan. If Hatton was able to force Khan up against the ropes for any length of time in the fight, there would be a good chance that Hatton would take Khan out. Khan would literally have to be moving at all times in the fight, because if Hatton is able to bull him to the ropes or corner him, it wouldn’t be good for Khan.
“I think I would have the edge in reach and speed while Ricky would be looking to cut the space down and get to work on the inside, but I think I could catch him on the way in,” Khan says. “But who knows. We have different styles and I think that is what would make it a great fight.”
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