By William Mackay: IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (26-1, 18 KO’s) is drooling over a possible fight next year against Floyd Mayweather Jr, but the problem is the fight – it ever happens – won’t take place until next year. Khan still has a lot of time to go before Mayweather is free to fight Khan in 2012. Khan can’t just sit and wait for that fight. He has to fight someone in December to keep active and try to keep winning fans in the United States.

The question is whether Khan will take another aging soft touch of a fighter in his next fight? There’s already talk that Khan’s promoter wants him to fight 34-year-old past his best Erik Morales in December. That’s like taking a step down from Judah. It would be a decent fight if Khan were coming off a knockout loss or if he was working his way of the light welterweight ranks, but he’s not. Morales is ranked at No.8 by the WBA, but given his lack of quality wins since he started his comeback in 2008, and his loss to Marcos Maidana last April, Morales should be ranked nearer to the bottom of the WBA rankings instead of at number #8. Khan should be facing either the winner of Robert Guerrero vs. Maidana or Breidis Prescott vs. Paul McCloskey.

The problem is Guerrero, Maidana and Prescott can all fight and can actually punch. Those guys won’t get a chance to fight Khan; that isn’t going to happen. Instead of facing a live body, Khan is going to be softly matched again. This mean that Khan has really only faced one real threat to him since he was knocked out by Precott in one round in 2008 and that was Maidana. Khan was very, very lucky to win that fight and not get knocked out. The fight should have been stopped in the 10th. And with the referee breaking the action left and right while Khan was getting battered on the ropes, you just don’t know who would have won that fight if it had been a different referee working.

My guess is Khan won’t face a live threat in December and will continue with his trend of facing weaker opposition. No way will he fight Prescott, Maidana, Lucas Matthysse or Guerrero. It’ll be Morales for an easy win to keep the Khan gravy train going until the Mayweather fight, which Khan will lose badly.