By William Mackay: Amir Khan (26-2, 18 KO’s) was worn down in his last fight against Lamont Peterson and soundly beaten by him last December. On Saturday night, Khan will be fighting WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia (23-0, 14 KO’s) at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Khan can’t afford another loss because his excuses won’t work next time around.

A loss to Garcia will show clearly that Khan is just another decent fighter but not an elite fighter. The Peterson fight pretty much showed that Khan isn’t an elite fighter because he couldn’t handle the pressure that was put on him, and was forced to run and foul in order to survive. Khan blamed everyone under the sun after the loss, and fans have bought the excuses. The excuses won’t help a second time, though. If he loses to Garcia in another foul-plagued performance, Khan can forget about big fights against Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao, if there ever was a chance.

Khan told philboxing.com “Normally, we go eight to ten weeks. But I feel fresh. I’m putting everything into this fight.”

Khan had better put everything he can into this fight, because another loss like the last one and I doubt HBO will continue to want to televise his fights, and the same goes for Sky in the UK. You can only lose so many fights before the television networks give up on you. Khan was already knocked out in one round by Breidis Prescott, and he was incredibly lucky not to have been knocked out by Marcos Maidana. Had there been a referee that is more hands off than the one working the fight, Khan would have likely been knocked out in the 10th round by Maidana.

Garcia has the speed and the power to give Khan a lot of problems. As long as Garcia isn’t being shoved, held and hit, and having his head pulled down all night long by Khan, Garcia could get the win. He’s a better pressure fighter than Peterson, with better hand speed and power. He does everything better than Peterson, and it’s going to be incredibly tough for Khan to win this fight if he doesn’t resort to fouling and running.