By Scott Gilfoid: Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) has reportedly been offered fights against #8 WBO welterweight contender Bradley Skeete (22-1, 10 KOs) and WBO junior middleweight champion Liam Smith (22-0-1, 12 KOs) by British promoter Frank Warren. It’s unclear why Khan would consider fighting either of those two guys, however, as neither of them are star caliber fighters, and the money that the inactive Khan would make in fights against them would likely be far less than what he could make if he fought IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook in the summer.
“He [Khan] should consider my offer to him of a fight with Bradley Skeete at welterweight, or if he finds any excess pounds he may have accumulated through his inactivity hard to shed, with our WBO super-welterweight champion Liam Smith,” Warren said on his site at frankwarren.com.
I think it’s safe to say that Khan won’t even consider fighting Skeete or Smith. Not now, not ever. There’s just no upside in fighting those obscure fighters. Skeete is the WBO European welterweight champion, and he was soundly beaten in 2014 by Frankie Gavin.
Skeete obviously has Gavin problems. It would be such a step down if Khan were to jam his stalled career in reverse in order to fight a domestic level guy like Skeete. I think Skeete needs to try and avenge his loss to Gavin, because that defeat is just there on his resume without him having avenged it. Skeete will be fighting Sam Eggington on March 5th, and he might not even win that fight.
There was a reported offer from WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to Liam Smith earlier this week. I’m not sure why Smith would want to fight an inactive fighter like Khan if he has an offer to fight Canelo.
A fight against Canelo would be televised on HBO pay-per-view in the United States. You can’t make a fight between Khan and Liam Smith pay-per-view in the States, because few boxing fans would want to pay see the fight. It seems to me that Liam Smith needs to take the Canelo fight if it;’s there for him rather than trying to fight a smaller inactive fighter like Khan.
Khan still isn’t saying what he’s going to do next. By staying inactive, Khan is sabotaging his own career. It’s unclear if he’s got a wounded ego due to him being passed over by Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. If it is case of wounded pride, then Khan needs to get over it already because he’s not getting any younger at age 29. Fighters have a short shelf life, and they tend to lose it quickly when they stay inactive the way Khan has.
Khan hasn’t fought since last May, when he struggled to defeat Chris Algieri by a close 12 round decision.
“It is eight months since Amir Khan last pulled on a pair of boxing gloves and went to work in the ring, winning an uninspiring points victory over Chris Algieri in New York,” Warren said. “And it seems it will be a further six months before he fights again.”
I totally agree with Warren. I can’t see Khan fighting anytime soon, because it’ll take a while to find an opponent, to negotiate the fight, and then get ready. We’re probably taking about at least six months if they find someone soon. That’s too long for a fighter that is in his prime to stay out of the ring. I mean, Khan isn’t in the same league as Floyd Mayweather Jr. He can’t just stay out of action for a year or more and come back and fight at the same level he did before he become inactive.
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