Hatton says Khan will easily beat Maidana, thinks he deserves to fight Mayweather and Pacquiao

By Boxing News - 12/10/2010 - Comments

By William Mackay: Former two division world champion Ricky Hatton believes that fellow Brit WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) will Easily beat Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KO’s) on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Khan, who just turned 24, has been carefully matched since being knocked out by Breidis Prescott in 2008. Khan has won his last five fights against weak punchers and his confidence is sky high to the point where he appears to be too confident.

Hatton told Espn.co.uk “Amir has had so much rubbish thrown at him about his chin since he was knocked out by Breidis Prescott. But he’s answering all the critics by taking on the biggest puncher in the division. Showing bullocks he has is what makes boxing special. When he got beaten by Prescott so many people were writing him off and the way he’s thrown it back, I’m proud of my friend. He is now being mentioned as a possible opponent for [Manny] Pacquiao and [Floyd] Mayweather Jr. If anyone deserves it, it is Amir. I think he will win by an absolute landslide on points or by late stoppage.”

I fail to see how wins over Dmitri Salita, Andriy Kotelnik, Oisin Fagan, Marco Antonio Barrera and Paulie Malignaggi put Khan in the position to fight Mayweather or Pacquiao. Is that all it takes to get a shot at those two fighters? Khan’s opposition has been weak since the Prescott loss, as none of those fighters can punch.

Maidana will be the test, and I expect Khan to fail it miserably. Khan still would have to beat the winner of the Devon Alexander vs. Timothy Bradley bout to get a fight against Mayweather, and that isn’t going to happen either. Khan will lose to either of those guys.



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