By Sean McDaniel: WBA Super World light welterweight champion Amir Khan (24-1, 17 KO’s) could be facing unbeaten WBC/WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (27-0, 11 KO’s) on July 23rd in Las Vegas, Nevada if Khan can beat his next opponent Paul McCloskey (22-0, 12 KO’s) on April 16th. Khan isn’t intimidated by Bradley, and has already noticed flaws in Bradley’s game.

Khan had this to say about Bradley in an interview at ringtv.com: “Bradley makes a lot of mistakes that people don’t capitalize on and I will. He cocks his punches sometimes, and he throws quick punches, punches with no power. It seems when he’s under pressure, he flicks his shots. And I don’t know why nobody has put him on back on back on his feet, pushed him back. I think I can do that…I’ll be the first to beat him. If he wants to come in with his head, he’ll get hit so hard. He’ll get hurt.”

Bradley has beaten a number of fighters, but his game style is usually one where he comes forward and mugs them in close with short punches without a lot of power. In fighting in close, Bradley often rams his head into his opponents, causing cuts. He’s tough to fight because he stays close and he’s always a threat to ram them with his head. It’s not that he’s trying to butt them with the crown of his head, but rather it’s a product of his short arms and crowding style of fighting.

It’s difficult to keep Bradley on the outside, because he has a fast inside move where he gets in close quickly by coming in low. Once he’s on the inside, he generally stays there. Khan is going to have problems trying to keep Bradley away, because it’s going to require constant movement. Once Khan stops for a second, Bradley will be on him head first, landing short punches with not a lot of power. They don’t need to be powerful, though, because he’s so good at smothering the offense of his opponents with his mauling style of fighting. Khan had better brush up on his inside game because he won’t be able to beat Bradley by shoving him or holding him like he did with Marcos Maidana when he came in close in their last fight.

None of this will matter, of course, if Khan can’t beat McCloskey on April 16th at the M.E.N Arena, in Manchester, England. Khan must beat McCloskey to get to Bradley.