By Ivan Godfrey: Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) has been hankering for a fight with unbeaten superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a long while now. However, I believe despite Khan’s huge pool of boxing talent, he should steer clear of this fight. My reasons are clear and Khan should consider them.
Amir Khan has made the mistake of believing that speed beats timing, which is never the case in boxing. Khan believes that simply because he has greater hand speed, he will not only be able to counter the shots from Mayweather, but load his own attacks without Floyd catching up with him. However, he is sorely mistaken.
Since the dawn of the sweet science, it has been well known that quite simply, timing beats speed. Floyd has the greatest timing I have ever seen in boxing, and despite being only 20 years old, I have seen the older boxers. Look at Khan vs. Danny Garcia. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of these people who says they have no faith in Khan because he was Ko’d by Danny in their fight in 2011. However, that fight and the fight with Lamont Peterson in 2011, which Khan lost by a 12 round decision, proved that Khan does not have elite timing when it comes to when he lands his shots, and when he blocks. These are traits you cannot teach to a fighter, and though Khan is brilliant at what he does, I do not believe he has anything like the natural timing which Mayweather has, and therefore will be unsuccessful.
I am a big Khan fan. However, I believe he should press for his legacy at this time, rather than his bank balance. Khan has the boxing ability in my opinion to rule boxing for the next 4 years. However, he does not need to go after Mayweather, who doesn’t need people like him thinking they can dethrone him, because the simple act is that Floyd is a legend in his own time, and Khan should look to build his own legacy.
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