By Scott Gilfoid: Virgil Hunter, the trainer for Amir Khan (28-3, 19 KO’s), is ruling out there being any chance of the 27-year-old Khan facing former three division world champion Adrien Broner in Khan’s next fight in May. Instead of Broner, Hunter says that Khan will be fighting an opponent that will leave fans pleased. I’m not sure if that’s going to be the place if Khan fights the guy – Luis Collazo – that his name has been linked to in the past week.
Collazo is more of a fighter from yesterday than today, as he’s done pretty much zero with his career since 2009 other than beating a badly flawed and terribly ring rusty Victor Ortiz. If Hunter thinks fans are going to be pleased with the news that Khan is fighting Collazo next, then I think Hunter has really misjudged what fans consider a good opponent.
“I can tell you this it won’t be Adrien Broner,” Hunter said to Sky Sports. “But I think you’ll be happy in the next few days when you get clarity on the whole situation…It was become apparent why it is a blessing in disguise…He will be fighting within a period of 8-10 weeks.”
Hunter sees it as a blessing in disguise that Khan isn’t going to fight Broner? Is he kidding? A blessing for who? That was a good fight, so I’m not sure how the boxing fans come out a head in this deal by the fight not taking place. If Hunter wants to call a Khan vs. Collazo fight a blessing in disguise, then I think he’s in the wrong line of work. I mean, I hope that’s the opponent that will be fighting Khan next, but if it is, Hunter should be in sales instead of training. I don’t honestly know how you can say that a Khan-Collazo fight is a blessing in disguise, so I hope that’s not going to be the next fight for Khan, because I see it as a purely awful one.
If Collazo built up to a fight with Khan by beating Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter and Devon Alexander, then I wouldn’t mind seeing Khan and Collazo in the ring. But with Collazo with only one decent but hardly great win on his resume in the past 5 years in beating Ortiz, I don’t see him as being worthwhile as an opponent. I just hope they don’t stick a fight like that on the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana undercard, because I was hoping to see some good fights on the pay-per-view portion of the card. Broner could end up facing lightweight John Molina on the Mayweather-Maidana card. I don’t see that as a fight worth paying for. If they want to make that fight, then I’d want it on the non-television portion of the card so that it doesn’t take away from the good fights. Having two mismatches between Khan and Collazo and Broner and Molina on the Mayweather vs. Maidana fight card would be a real buzz kill for me.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said yesterday that he wants to put together fights that please the fans to where they want to keep coming back, but I don’t see Khan-Collazo and/or Broner-Molina as fan-pleasing fights. To me, I see those fights as ESPN Friday Night Fights type bouts, at best.
Hunter sees Khan getting a fight against Mayweather in the future, saying “It’s definitely going to happen. I am very confident through the circle of people that I speak to.”
That’s fine, but I sure as heck don’t want Khan to earn his way to a Mayweather fight off of wins over Collazo, Julio Diaz and little lightweight Carlos Molina. I mean, I Khan should earn his way to a Mayweather fight by facing Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter and Devon Alexander. You can substitute Broner’s name for Alexander, but Porter and Thurman are must fights for Khan. I’d also like to see Khan face Maidana again, because I see his win over him from 2010 as a highly tainted one due to how many times the referee working that fight got in the way of Maidana in the final three rounds when he was trying to finish Khan off after hurting him in the 10th.
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