Khan has some good options available to him if he’ll take them

By Boxing News - 05/16/2011 - Comments

By William Mackay: WBC/WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley decided recently to put off facing WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan for the time being. It’s not because he’s afraid of facing him. Bradley is reportedly waiting for his contract to expire with his current promoter before he hooks up for a fight against Khan. This leaves Khan looking for someone to fill the July 23rd date that he has open for an HBO fight.

Despite what some people say, Khan has some decent options available to him if he wants to take them. He can always fight Robert Guerrero, Marcos Maidana, Breidis Prescott or possibly even Zab Judah. Any one of those guys would be a good fight for Khan. However, I doubt Khan will fight any of them. Golden Boy Promotions like the idea of matching Khan against the older, slower, weaker Erik Morales next.

He’s one of the names they’re looking to put Khan in with, and I can see that fight happening. Morales isn’t as hard of a puncher as Maidana, Prescott or Judah. He also isn’t fighting with the same kind of intensity that Guerrero is. It’s not that Guerrero is a better fighter than a prime Morales, but he’s fighting at a higher level than Morales right now. This is why I don’t see Guerrero getting a shot at Pacquiao.

I can’t see Maidana getting a shot either because of how much trouble he gave Khan in their fight last December. Khan took a beating in that fight despite running and holding for much of the fight. Khan might win a rematch if he’s lucky enough to have a referee working that limits inside fighting. Maidana would likely win a rematch if there was a referee that actually allowed that part of the game. It doesn’t matter, though, because Maidana will likely not get another shot against Khan anytime soon, if ever. A rematch between Khan and Prescott would be the best fight that could be put together, but that fight won’t happen. Prescott is too dangerous and is fighting at too high of a level right now. He’s really improved since losing a couple of fights in 2009 and looks to be fighting at a higher level than Khan right now.

Judah isn’t interested in fighting Khan, and is hoping instead to get a really big payday against Manny Pacquiao. We’ll know soon whether Judah will get a shot. If Golden Boy Promotions matches Top Rank’s offer to Juan Manuel Marquez, Judah could fall into a fight with Pacquiao. It would still be a huge long shot but there is a small chance Judah can get that fight.

Look for Khan to choose the easiest option of the bunch by taking on the 34-year-old Morales next.



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