By Scott Gilfoid: As I expected him to, WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (24-1, 17 KO’s) choose the path of least resistance by hand-picking unbeaten EBU light welterweight champion Paul McCloskey (22-0, 12 KO’s) to fight next on April 16th in the UK.
Before you get excited and point out that McCloskey is unbeaten, take a good look at the fighters that the 31-year-old McCloskey has fought during his career. They’re all B and C level fighter with not one being a world class. So what we have here is Khan facing a B level champion who happens to hold a European strap.
In other words, Khan is facing a soft opponent, one with little power to trouble his glass jaw. I’m really disappointed in Khan. I mean I expected him to pull this classic move, but I was hoping he would do the right thing and fight Breidis Prescott or someone that American fans would care about.
HBO is likely going to shove the Khan-McCloskey fight down our throats, despite few Americans, aside from the hardcore fans, will have ever seen McCloskey before. They’ll advertise this fight as a match-up between Khan and an unbeaten highly ranked fighter. And, yes, it’s true that McCloskey is unbeaten and ranked at number #5 by the WBA, but then again the WBA also had Dimitri Salita ranked at #1 for Khan in December 2009.
Let’s be real. Salita didn’t belong ranked anywhere in the top 20, and that’s how I feel about McCloskey. I think he’s a good bottom #30 to #40 guy, and that’s really reaching. The hand speed just isn’t there and neither is the power. I’ve seen a couple of his fights, and I was shocked at how weak and slow he is. We’re talking painfully slow.
Khan says “I am delighted that this fight has finally been put together following some tough negotiations. This is a matchup the British public want to see and will be a fantastic fight between two of the best light welterweights in the country.”
Yes, the British public loves this fight for some reason. It’s a nice little mismatch for the public to watch and gawk at. I see it as like watching a car wreck. This isn’t going to be interesting at all. McCloskey doesn’t have the power to tap Khan’s weak chin and make him stagger around the ring like Prescott, Maidana or Lucas Matthysse would. It’s going to be boring to watch this one.
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