By Scott Gilfoid: #1 WBO, #4 WBA, Keith Thurman (21-0, 19 KO’s) doesn’t see #2 WBC, Amir Khan (28-3, 19 KO’s) as a serious factor at 147. Thurman believes that Khan’s level was shown when he was stopped in the 4th round by WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia last year in July. Thurman sees Khan as being in the wrong division now that he’s got the idea of moving up in weight to the welterweight division.
Thurman said to Live Fight “He [Khan] couldn’t take Danny Garcia’s left hook at 140. I really don’t think Amir Khan has any business stepping up into the 147 division. He’s really not my cup of team. I’m hungry for something else.”
Thurman is more interested in taking on the likes of Floyd Mayweather Jr., Adrien Broner, Devon Alexander, and Tim Bradley rather than facing a fighter like Khan, who has lost 2 out of his last 4 fights. To Thurman, Khan still has a lot of redeeming he needs to do after suffering those losses in a short period of time.
I think Thurman is right about Khan. He was blown out by Garcia, and this was at 140. Now Khan is going up to the welterweight division where the fighters have even more power than Garcia. It’s going to end badly, and I’m just wondering what the end game is for Khan. Will Golden Boy Promotions keep him at 147, or will Khan insist on moving back down to 140.
Even if Khan moves back down, where is he going to go? He was already beaten by Garcia, and he’s not going to be able to do anything with Lucas Matthysse. Khan might be able to fight Lamont Peterson again, but he was beaten by him too. Who’s to say Khan won’t get beaten again. But for the sake of argument let’s say Khan does beat Peterson in a rematch. How long will Khan be able to hold onto his IBF title before someone comes along and beats him again?
Khan might be able to milk the title for a while by staying away from Garcia, Matthysse and some of the other big punchers in the division. But if he decides he wants to fight the top guys, he’s going to be right back where he started from with him getting knocked out again.
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