By William Mackay: A lot of people are under the impression that WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) opted to fight the 38-year-old Joel Casamayor because Michael Katsidis, the other opponent that Khan’s promotional team Golden Boy Promotions wanted for him fight wanted too much money. However, that’s not the case according to Katsidis’ manager Brendon Smith. In an article at the sportingreece.com, Smith said “I have never received an offer for Michael [Katsidis] to fight Khan, but I did have a discussion with Richard Schaefer [the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions] who would love to put this fight on.”

This is disappointing news, because you would like to think that Katsidis, the younger, faster, and more appealing opponent would have been chosen for Khan rather than Casamayor, who will be 39 in July, which is when Khan will be fighting him. But why didn’t Golden Boy and Khan at least enquire how much money that Katsidis wanted for the fight? That’s the big question. I’m left wondering whether Katsidis was immediately dismissed right off the bat because of the bigger danger he would present compared to the lighter hitting Casamayor.

To be sure, Casamayor stopped Katsidis two years ago in the 10th round. However, Katsidis has improved a lot since then, is the hot fighter right now with four straight wins and recently scored an impressive 3rd round TKO over Kevin Mitchell. In contrast, Casamayor hasn’t been all that active since getting stopped in the 11th round by Juan Manuel Marquez in 2008.

But in looking at both Casamayor and Katsidis, I can see why Casamayor might have been selected. He looks like’s lost a lot in the last two years, and doesn’t have the big power or the speed that Katsidis possesses. Khan doesn’t have the best chin, and a fight against a big puncher like Katsidis would be a real test for Khan’s tender chin. Khan was stopped in the 1st round by Breidis Prescott in 2008, and has been treated with the utmost care since then by being matched selectively.

If you go from matching Khan against feather fisted fighters to a slugger like Katsidis, it would be like throwing a non-swimmer into the deep end. Khan could either easily beat Katsidis or he could get knocked cold. It’s one of those fights where Khan would be in constant danger of getting stopped and unless he stayed on his bicycle for 12 rounds, there would be a good chance that he would be knocked out again.