By William Mackay: In the latest boxing news, Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions is looking to possibly set up WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) in a fight against lightweight Michael Katsidis (27-2, 22 KO’s) next instead of one of the top light welterweights in the division. My question is why doesn’t Golden Boy put Khan in with the number #2 WBA ranked Victor Ortiz (27-2-1, 21 KO’s) instead?
After all, Ortiz does fight in the same weight division as Khan, is ranked at number #2 by the WBA, and is roughly around the same height as Khan at 5’9″ compared to Khan’s 5’10”. Better than that, Ortiz also has blazing fast hand speed and also fights for Golden Boy Promotions like Khan. Don’t get me wrong; I like the Khan vs. Katsidis match-up and think of it as a modern day Gatti-like fight, but I think a fight between Khan and Ortiz would be much more competitive due to Ortiz’s fast hand speed, superb power, southpaw stance and youth.
There’s no question that Ortiz would have an excellent chance of beating khan if they were to match the two, but then again maybe they don’t want to risk Khan with a big puncher like Ortiz. We saw what Ortiz could do in his fight against Marcos Maidana last year. Ortiz knocked Maidana down three times in the fight and landed some crushing shots that would have left most fighters flat on their back and out cold. It’s a credit to Maidana that he was able to weather the storm and come back to stop Ortiz in the 6th. But that doesn’t mean that Khan would be able to take those same shots that Maidana did and still keep fighting.
Ortiz, because of his hand speed and power, would be a real threat for Khan. I believe that Ortiz is a bigger puncher than Breidis Prescott and would be a very dangerous opponent for Khan. Golden Boy needs let Khan take a chance and fight Ortiz. I think the Katsidis fight is a waste of time for Khan. Sure, he might win it and get another nice payday, but Ortiz, Maidana, Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley will still be there waiting for Khan after the fight and I don’t see how the Katsidis fight would have prepared Khan for what he was about to face in dealing with those guys.
Khan is talking nonstop about wanting to be the best, to fight Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. and unify the titles in the light welterweight division. How can he do that if he keeps getting matched against fighters that aren’t in their class? I’m not saying that Katsidis is a bad fighter. He’s a good fighter but he’s also a lightweight, not a light welterweight. Khan says he wants to beat the best fighters in the light welterweight division. Well, Ortiz is one of the best and he’s available for Khan to fight next. I think Khan should do it. So what if he gets knocked out? At least Khan would learn something about himself and would be fighting the best in the division.
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