By William Mackay: Lightweight contender Kevin Mitchell (31-0, 23 KO’s) thinks that WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KO’s) isn’t interested in fighting him, because if he was he would have fought him already. In an article at Sky Sports, Mitchell spoke on a number of issues besides this, mentioning that Khan is facing an easy opponent in Paulie Malignaggi and getting really well paid for the fight. Mitchell says “The only time I’d get to meet Khan is if he got beaten and wanted to up his profile. If Khan gets beaten again, then no one will want to know him. They’ll know he’s not the real thing.”
Mitchell is right about Khan likely only fighting him if he gets beaten. You can’t exactly blame Khan for that. Mitchell is only known in the UK, and probably not even a huge star over there. Boxing fans haven’t heard of him in the United States other than the hardcore fans. Khan wants to fight opponents with worldwide recognition like Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.
Facing Mitchell, a fighter that fights in a lower division and mainly in the UK, would be a step backwards for Khan. So you can’t fault Khan for largely ignoring Mitchell. There’s no point in fighting Mitchell when only one part of the world would really care about the fight. The U.S. fans wouldn’t tune in for a Khan-Mitchell fight because they have no idea who Mitchell. In fact, they have no idea right now who Khan is, since he hasn’t faced anyone yet. Khan will be fighting Paulie Malignaggi on May 15th at Madison Square Garden. Malignaggi is a semi popular fighter, someone who is slightly recognizable to fans with a passing knowledge of the sport but known really known by the public at large.
Mitchell says “He’s [Khan] fighting Malignaggi next. That says it all. Malignaggi is made for him, because he doesn’t punch…I’ve been told Khan is getting $1.1 million for the fight. That’s crazy money because there’s no risk involved. I’ve definitely got a much harder fight and that shows what I’m about and that I’ve got the nerve to pick the tough fights.” Maybe, but Mitchell doesn’t have a Silver Medal in the Olympics like Khan, and doesn’t have the lightning fast hands and the fast footwork either.
Those are some of the reasons why Khan is able to get a lot more attention at this point than Mitchell. Instead of complaining about it, Mitchell should try to focus on his next opponent Michael Katsidis and try not to end up one of his victims on May 15th. If Mitchell wants to get a big payday at some point in the future against Khan, he needs to keep winning and keep taking on the best fighters in boxing. He won’t be able to build up a name by fighting strictly in the UK his entire career. He has to come across the pond and get his feet wet against someone like Juan Manuel Marquez for him to start getting the attention that Khan is getting.
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