By Scott Gilfoid: The belt-less Amir Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) says he still has no interest in facing IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs) because he feels that the 28-year-old fighter is still unproven despite his recent win over former IBF 147lb champion Shawn Porter in August of 2014.
Khan says he wants the big names – Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao – and he doesn’t see Brook as being a big enough name for him to give him the chance for a fight.
Khan is still waiting around to see if he can be the backup guy for Mayweather or Pacquiao if they don’t end up facing each other next on May 2nd. Khan has put his career on hold temporarily while he waits to see if he can get a fight with either of those guys. His best chance is against Pacquiao, as he and his promoter Bob Arum have expressed interest in facing Khan next possibly if they can’t get the Mayweather fight, and if Khan isn’t blocked by Showtime.
“At one time he [Brook] was on our radar, but he’s not on our radar anymore because obviously if he’s not proven himself, why should we take all the biggest and toughest fights in the world when he’s fighting nobodies? And why should we give him the opportunity?” Khan said via Fighthype.com.
Well, I wouldn’t call Shawn Porter a “nobody.” He’s probably better known in the United States than Khan is, so Brook hasn’t fought nothing but nobodies. He has one guy on his resume that is well-known, but you can definitely make an argument that the other 32 guys on Brook’s resume are pretty much nobodies.
If Khan doesn’t get a fight against Mayweather or Pacquiao next, then he’s going to look bad unless he at least fights somebody at the same level as Brook. Facing the likes of Carlos Molina, Julio Diaz and Luis Collazo isn’t going to do it.
Khan needs to heavily upgrade his opposition if he doesn’t want to take continual criticism from boxing fans for what they feel is him ducking the Brook fight in order to save himself from being potentially knocked out. I mean, you can understand Khan bypassing Brook if he’s going to get a shot at Mayweather or Pacquiao, but you can’t understand it if he’s going to be facing Collazo, Victor Ortiz or some other flawed welterweight.
“Manny Pacquiao said he’s never heard of him. Not many people have heard of who Kell Brook is,” Khan said.
It’s interesting how Khan mentions Pacquiao in order to support his argument that he shouldn’t be made to fight Brook. It’s as if Khan is now putting himself in the same class as Pacquiao.
I hope for Khan’s sake he doesn’t see himself on the same level as Pacquiao, because he’s clearly not at that level. Khan is still at the lower level in my estimation due to his chin issues, and his leave himself open for shots with the way he flails with his arms when he throws combinations. He needs a lot of work on offense, and especially on defense.
Comments are closed.