By Scott Gilfoid: Amir Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) is counting on 2015 being a huge year for him. Khan is hoping to get big fights against the top names in the sport such as Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao after failing to get fights against them during the first nine years of his pro career.
For Khan to get in the running for fights against the likes of Mayweather and Pacquiao in 2015 and beyond, he’s going to need to pass a minor test this Saturday night against Devon Alexander (26-2, 14 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Alexander is kind of a lateral move from Khan’s last opponent Luis Collazo, who Khan beat by a one-sided decision last May. Khan’s handlers opted not to put him in with a dangerous opponent for his fight this Saturday night for whatever reason. Don’t get me wrong; Alexander is a good fighter, but he doesn’t have the kind of punching power that Khan has historically had problems against in the past.
“My goals are to fight the biggest names in boxing. After Alexander, there are names like Mayweather and Pacquiao getting thrown at me. It’s all about fighting at that elite level of boxing,” Khan said via Skysports.com. “Roll on 2015. It’s a big year for me. There are going to be some huge fights for me.”
Mayweather hasn’t said whether he’ll take a fight against Khan or not, so you can’t really count him as a guaranteed opponent for the British fighter no matter how good he looks against Alexander. As for Pacquiao, that’s probably an even tougher fight for Khan to get due to his adviser Al Haymon. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum is open to matching him against Khan in the near future, but he reportedly has his doubts whether the fight can be made.
It’s quite possible that the biggest fight that Khan can get in 2015 is a bout against Kell Brook, and that’s if Khan actually wants that fight. Brook certainly wants that fight, but I’m not so certain that Khan is willing to take this dangerous fight until he gets a fight against Mayweather or Pacquiao. Some boxing fans feel that Khan is avoiding the fight against Brook in order to avoid getting potentially knocked out by him.
It’s a risky fight for Khan to take before a big money fight against the likes of Pacquiao and Mayweather, so it’s understandable why Khan might be dragging his feet about taking it. I mean, if Brook knocks Khan out cold then you can pretty much forget all about Khan ever getting a fight against Pacquiao and Mayweather. This is why 2015 might be just another boring year for Khan with him taking lesser known opponents rather than the big fights against Mayweather, Pacquiao or Brook.
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