By Scott Gilfoid: Amir Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) has never faced Floyd Mayweather Jr or Manny Pacquiao, but he figures that Pacquiao would be the tougher fight for him because of his aggressiveness.
Khan thinks that the two fighters are getting older and will need to be replaced soon. While Khan doesn’t mention himself as the guy that will ultimately replacing them, it seems that’s something he’s hoping for.
Khan can’t really test his theory about Pacquiao being tougher than Mayweather, because he’s not had any luck in getting either of them in the ring to face him. It could be that Khan hasn’t done enough since his back to back losses to Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson, or it just might his style of fighting that is keeping him from getting those fights.
Mayweather and Pacquiao might not be excited about fighting a guy that puts his opponents in head-locks and pulls down on their heads when they try to get in position to throw a punch.
Khan ties up his opponents like clockwork when they attempt to get off their punches, and I’m not so sure that those two superstars are going to want to have Khan holding them all night. There’s nothing worse for a superstar to face than a clincher, because there’s no way they can shine against a guy that’s got a hold of them 24/7.
“Boxing is all about timing and Manny and Floyd are getting older,” Khan said to theguardian.com. “Someone has to take their place. Mayweather would be a very technical fight, like a game of chess. But I think Manny would be harder. He’s much more aggressive and it would be more intense. But with my trainer Virgil Hunter I’m a much better and more defensive fighter.”
Khan goes on to say that he’s having problems getting a top tier fighter to face him, which is surprising given that Keith Thurman has made it clear for ages that he’d be interested in facing Khan. Shawn Porter would likely be interested in facing Khan too after he gets past Kell Brook on August 16th.
You can’t really take Khan serious as an opponent for either Mayweather or Pacquiao when he’s being matched up against the likes of Carlos Molina, Julio Diaz and Luis Collazo. There’s nothing wrong with those guys if Khan had fought them 10 years ago when they were still relevant, in terms of Diaz and Collazo. But with Khan facing them now, it just looks like he’s still taking tune-ups after his losses to Garcia and Peterson.
If Khan really wants to get Mayweather and Pacquiao into the ring, he’s got to tell Golden Boy Promotions and Al Haymon to step up the level of his opposition to put him in with Thurman and Porter. If they’re not up for that, then Khan has no reason to complain about not being able to get fights against Mayweather and Pacquiao. The answer is painfully obvious. Khan isn’t fighting the right guys. He’s still being matched carefully, for some reason, as if he’s someone that needs to be protected.
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