By Scott Gilfoid: Unranked former world title challenger Josesito Lopez (32-6, 19 KOs) could be the next opponent for Amir Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) to fight in December, according to Steve Kim.
It’s kind of a surprising opponent if Lopez ends up as the next guy that Khan faces, because we’ve been hearing Khan speak about potentially facing the likes of Devon Alexander and Robert Guerrero for his December fight. At least with those guys, they’re ranked in the top 15. Lopez has lost 3 out of his last 6 fights in the past three years.
“My understanding is that Josesito Lopez to fight on Sept 11 in Las Vegas, could be in line to face Amir Khan in December,” Steve Kim said on his twitter.
So this is the opponent that Khan is supposed to help make a case for him getting a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr next May? This is basically a lateral move from Khan’s last fight against 33-year-old Luis Collazo. I wouldn’t say it’s a step up or a step down for Khan. Lopez and Collazo are identical in my mind in terms of talent. To be honest, I see Lopez as a slight step down from Collazo, because he’s not even ranked in the top 15 in the welterweight division, although I imagine we’ll soon see Lopez magically appear in the top 15 rankings as soon as the Khan-Lopez fight is made.
A win against Lopez shouldn’t put Khan into a Mayweather fight. There should be a higher standard than that to get to the top. I’d like to see Khan fight a rematch with Marcos Maidana in order to get a fight against Mayweather. I think that would be a much better test than letting Khan get the shot off of a win over a non-top 15 guy like Lopez. I think Lopez is a decent trial horse, but I definitely don’t think he should be the guy that Khan uses as a springboard to get a fight against Mayweather. That just seems wrong.
I rate Guerrero and especially Devon Alexander as well above Lopez as a fighter.
Khan needs to tell his adviser Al Haymon and Golden boy Promotions that he’s probably going to need a better fighter than Lopez because this isn’t a big enough fight for Khan to prove that he deserves a fight against Mayweather. I see it as more of a tune-up fight like the ones Khan has been facing ever since he got beaten in back to back fights by Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia. Since the Garcia fight, Khan has fought lightweight Carlos Molina, Julio Diaz and Luis Collazo. Lopez’s name would fit in nicely with those guys as another tune-up fight.
Mayweather is about facing the best fighters. He’s not into fighting guys that are trying to get a fight against him using the backdoor method by taking on 2nd tier guys. Out of the last three opponents Khan has faced, only one of them, Collazo, was ranked in the top 15. So if Khan faces Lopez, he’ll have fought 4 guys with only 1 of them ranked in the top 15. Man, what a way to earn a fight against a Mayweather.
Lopez has recent knockout losses to Marcos Maidana and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. His claim to fame is beating Victor Ortiz in 2012 in a fight that Ortiz was winning until he quit in the 9th round. Had the fight gone the distance, Lopez likely would have lost.
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