by Johnnie Farquhar: Amir Khan (29-3-0) will be facing Devon Alexander (26-2-0) on December 13th in what some have dubbed, a ‘stay-busy’ fight to cement a dream bout with the pound-for-pound king, Floyd Mayweather. After his losses to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia had left him floundering in the depths of the 140 pound division, Khan has been a road to recovery, moving up in weight and facing opponents who many have deemed inadequate for the Olympic silver medallist. The ‘tune-up’ fights against a lightweight sized Carlos Molina, and average journey-man Julio Diaz, however, proved more challenging than expected for the Bolton man, but a recent fight with Luis Collazo on the undercard of Mayweather and Maidana’s first meeting convinced many that Khan still has the speed and boxing ability to completely dominate an opponent, be it a lethargic Collazo.
Alexander, however, symbolizes a return to high-class opposition. With notable wins over Lucas Matthysse, Marcos Maidana and most recently Jesus Soto Karass, he represents a challenge that Khan has lacked since his loss to Danny Garcia. With the possibility of a career high pay-day against Mayweather on the horizon, a fight that Khan has been profusely chasing, and has wasted a large amount of time on, with the guarantee of a huge pay-check seemingly controlling his boxing aspirations, it is imperative that Khan wins, and wins in style against Alexander in December to secure his dream fight.
This, however, seems unlikely; Alexander possesses real power and had the ability to KO any welterweight in the division. He also brings to the table a speed the Khan has not experienced since he fought Zab Judah back in 2011. His power, however, could prove to be Khan’s downfall. As we have saw in fights against Breidiss Prescott, Danny Garcia and Marcos Maidana, Khan’s trademark ‘glass-chin’ is always that recipient of a large amount of concern, and it has been clear many times before that just as he appears to be controlling a fight, he become jelly legged with one punch, meaning that a win is never guaranteed until the final bell rings.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has labelled the bout as ‘a dangerous fight for Amir because it’s a nothing fight’, and believes that a fight between Matchroom fighter Kell Brook is a much more enterprising proposition due to its domesticity, and rivalry between the two British men. It could also be argued that a matchup with unbeaten welterweight Keith Thurman would also be a more attractive fight. The possible fights against either Thurman or Brook would both draw interest from the public for different reasons, but the fight with Alexander will predictably fail to draw the kind of interest that these two other fights would draw.
They are also, arguably, less risky in some ways for Khan as well; the fight with Brook would likely be held at a huge venue and would draw in vast amounts of British viewers, perhaps similar to that of Carl Froch vs. George Groves, which in-turn would produce a higher pay-cheque for Khan, a reason that seems to be his only motive now. A fight against Thurman would also arguably draw in higher viewing numbers, and a win for Khan would truly legitimize his claim to the Mayweather matchup due to Thurman being the most feared and avoided fighter not only in the welterweight division, but arguably in whole of the sport of boxing.
In summary, a loss against Alexander could prove to be the final nail in the coffin of Khan’s career. The fight is one of low-gain and high-risk; a win does not carry a guarantee of a Mayweather matchup, and a loss sends him back to the lower ranks of the division along the likes of Josesito Lopoz and Jesus Soto Karass, a position from which it would be hard to return, especially as Khan is now 28 and seems to have lost his flair that was clear in bouts with Pauli Malignaggi and Zab Judah.
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