By Tim Royner: Amir Khan will have strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza and Bones Adams as his training team for his 12 round fight against little known Neeraj Goyat on July 12 at the King Abdullah Sports City, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
With this mismatch, Khan would pretty much train himself and go out there and obliterate the hapless Goyat in the first round on July 12th. This is a dreadful mismatch.
If Khan take it easy on Goyat, he’d going to end the fight too fast on July 12, and there will be a lot of unhappy boxing fans. The 32-year-old Khan obviously isn’t the same fighter he once was, but he’s certainly capable of beating better fighters than this. It’s troubling that there’s interest in the Khan vs. Goyat match, because it’s clear that it’s not going to be remotely competitive. Unless Khan takes it easy on Goyat, this fight will be over with in seconds.
Khan (33-5, 20 KOs) will be well-paid for this fight against Goyat (11-3-2, 2 KOs), who isn’t a world class fighter. The fight is a mismatch, and it’s likely going to be over with quickly once Khan starts unloading on Goyat. Khan could end the fight in the first round if he sits down on his shots the way he did against Phil Lo Greco in 2018. Goyat would likely lose badly to Lo Greco. That’s how much of a mismatch the Khan vs. Goyat fight is.
Khan vs. Kell Brook still not happening
Some boxing fans are wondering if Khan’s days of fighting world class opposition is over with. It would be a shame if Khan turns into an exhibition level fighter like what we’re seeing with Floyd Mayweather Jr. scrapping with MMA fighters rather than boxers. Khan’s promoter Eddie Hearn is still highly interested in putting together a fight between him and former IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook. However, that fight, if it’s going to take place, probably won’t happen until 2020.
Brook could be facing WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford next. That fight will finish Brook for 2019. With the money that Khan will be getting for the Goyat fight, it’s predictable that he’ll want to continue to fight those type of matches for good coin. There’s zero risk at all for Khan, and he’s making the kind of money he made against Crawford. Why wouldn’t Khan want to continue to take fights against guys that are not threat to beating him.
Virgil Hunter’s status as Khan’s trainer unknown
It’s unclear whether Khan has split with trainer Virgil Hunter, who worked his last fight against WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford on April 20.
Khan was stopped in the sixth round by Crawford after Hunter felt that he was too hurt to continue after being hit with a low blow.
On the undercard of Khan-Goyat, unbeaten Prince Patel (18-0-1, 13 KOs) will be battling for the vacant IBO bantamweight title against an opponent still to be determined. Patel has never fought anyone of note during his career. At some point, he’s going to need to be matched against better opposition for his management to see what they got in him.