By Sean McDaniel: Frank Warren, the former promoter for WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (24-1, 17 KO’s), doesn’t think Khan is ready to move up in weight and take on unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the near future. Khan and his trainer Freddie Roach have been talking endlessly about wanting a fight against Mayweather next year, feeling as if they can beat him for some reason.
It seems like an insane idea when you look at how Khan was forced to go life and death with Marcos Maidana last weekend in earning a close 12 round decision victory. Whether you agree with the judges’ scores or not, there’s no question that Khan was taking punishment in the final three rounds against Maidana and it’s a good thing that championship fights are no longer 15 rounds, because Khan wouldn’t have survived another three rounds with the heavy shots he was absorbing from Maidana.
Warren had this to say about Khan facing Mayweather in an interview at the Manchester Evening News: “He’s [Khan] got to go up in weight to fight Mayweather. It’s madness. It’s great to talk and keeps your name in the frame, but not yet. He needs to be patient. He needs to clean up the division first of all.”
Warren is right.
Khan needs to prove that he can beat Timothy Bradley and/or Devon Alexander to prove that he’s the best fighter in the division before even considering a fight against Mayweather. Ideally, Khan should fight a rematch against Maidana and prove that he can beat him conclusively without getting staggered. Khan needs to finish Maidana off in style, not be made to look like he was just surviving.
If that had been Mayweather in the ring with Khan last Saturday night, Khan would have taken a terrible beating and would have been stopped. His weak flurries would have done nothing against Mayweather other than miss or get picked off on Mayweather’s gloves. In the meantime, Mayweather would have picked Khan apart and given him a terrifying, perhaps career altering beat down. Khan needs more experience before he faces someone like Mayweather to avoid being humiliated by him.
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