By William Mackay: With negotiation attempts with EBU light welterweight champion Paul McCloskey and Lamont Peterson having been tried and failed, WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (24-1, 17 KO’s) now says his management will be contacting lightweight contender Michael Katsidis (27-3, 22 KO’s) on Monday to see if he’ll be interested in a fight on April 16th in the UK.

Katsidis was recently beaten by WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez in an exciting fight in which Katsidis was stopped in the 9th round last November. Katsidis took a pounding in that fight, so it’s unclear whether he’ll be interested in taking what could be another hard fight for him back to back like this. Khan, 5’10”, would have a three inch height advantage over the 5’7” Katsidis and a big speed advantage as well. This is a lightweight, after all, that Khan would be facing and not someone from his own weight class.

Speaking with Sky Sport News, Khan said “We want it all done next week and were getting in touch with Katsidis’ people on Monday.”

Hopefully Khan’s management give Katsidis a good financial offer, because unlike Peterson and McCloskey, Katsidis is well known around the world and is much respected. Khan won’t be able to get Katsidis on the cheap. If Khan wants an opponent with a name, he’s going to have pay for it. He can always pick a nobody and give them next to nothing, but then again boxing fans won’t be nearly as interested in purchasing Khan’s fight on pay-per-view in the UK. This is why Khan needs a fighter with a name that boxing fans at home care about.

Khan is also considering a bout against another lightweight John Murray, the EBU lightweight champion. This is a lot less interesting fight because Murray is slower than Katsidis, not as powerful and not nearly as well known. It’s a fight that would be marginally interesting at home in the UK, but it wouldn’t likely attract flies on HBO in the U.S. Khan needs someone that boxing fans in the U.S. have heard of for them to waste time watching.