By Charles Brun: Amir Khan wants to be the one that Oscar De La Hoya choose to fight when he launches his comeback in 2020 or 2021. The 47-year-old De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) is coming out a 12-year-old retirement, and he wants to take on a top 154 or 160-pound fighter.
While former IBF/WBA light-welterweight champion Khan (34-5, 21 KOs) falls short of being a top 154-pounder, he does have a lot of speed and talent to give De la hoya a hard fight potentially, and he may even knock him out.
What we don’t know is if De La Hoya will want to fight Khan because he’s not an elite level fighter at 154 or 160. Fighting Khan would put De La Hoya in a position where he would have nothing to gain and everything to lose.
Khan wants a rehydration clause
“I hear Oscar De La Hoya wants to make a comeback, and he missed boxing and wants to be back in,” said Khan to Fighthype. “He decided that he wanted to fight one of the top guys. I’m here, and I would love that fight.
“Oscar De La Hoya is a legend in the sport of boxing, and what a huge fight it would be. I remember when I signed with Golden Boy Promotions in 2009, and I never thought that this opportunity would come one day.
“Maybe this is the time and the opportunity that was always meant to be. Oscar says he wants a dance partner. I’m ready to dance, man. I remember Oscar was around, and I remember sizing him up as well.
“I remember sizing him up and thinking, ‘Maybe one day, you just never know.’ He was a little wider, but I thought what an awesome fight it would be.
“Fighting at 154 might be pushing it a little bit, but when it’s fighting a legend like Oscar, then there might need to be a rehydration clause of something like that.
“I’m not going to make the same mistake that I hade against Canelo because size does matter in fights,” Khan said.’
Insisting that De La Hoya agrees to a rehydration clause is a sure-fire way of foiling the negotiations. De La Hoya has other options available to him to where be his opponent, and he wouldn’t have to agree to a rehydration limit.
Amir ready to make De La Hoya fight
“My team will sit down and negotiate with him,” Amir Khan of De La Hoya. “I am my team, and I’ll make sure I get the right deal. Why not make it happen. Why talk bout it. Let’s just go for us.
“You’re always going to have it in you. He’s won many world titles during his career. I’m sure it’s going to come back to him like normal. Muscle memory, winning a gold medal in the Olympics and winning numerous world championships.
“If he feels he still has got it in him, then let’s make it happen. I think it would start out like a chess match and then from there it would go on. How much punishment can Oscar take? Is he still going to have the same engine?
“Is he still going to be throwing them punches in bunches? This is something he’s going to want to see himself. He’ll kind of get a little feel for it once he’s in training camp and is training,” said Khan.
Oscar specifically mentioned wanting to fight a tp junior middleweight and middleweight, and Khan doesn’t fit in either of those categories. Khan isn’t ranked at 154 or 160.
Oscar has the power to KO Amir
“I just feel what a massive fight it would be for both of us if Oscar wants to come back and make some noise,” said Khan. “I think I’m the ideal opponent to do that. People are always saying, ‘If you fight Amir, you might catch him with that one shot.’
“Oscar might have that chance. That’s what makes this fight exciting. Anything can happen. Oscar is a great fighter, but my skills compare. When you have two Olympias in the ring, and two former world champions in the ring, I feel it would be big.
“I feel the storyline would be massive. I have respect for him, but you’re always one punch away from getting hurt badly. I think it would be a massive opportunity for me. Even bringing him to the UK, that fight would be huge. I opened the doors to the Middle East.
“I just had a fight in Saudi Arabia. Anthony Joshua went there and made millions. I’m in talks with Saudi to go there again. You’ve got all the Middle East that wants to put on big shows, big performances, and big events,” said Khan.
De La Hoya has the size, power, and boxing skills to defeat Khan, but this isn’t the type of guy that Oscar will want.
Amir will still idolize De La Hoya after he KOs him
“You’ve got the UK and America as well,” Amir continued. “It’s going to be massive. If it were to happen early next year, depending on this lockdown, people would still tune in because they would want to see what’s going to happen.
“If the fight happens and I knock him out, I’m still going to see him as an idol because he’s in the sport of boxing, and he motivated me to go to America and have him as a promoter and to promote me.
“I’m sure he still has that in him: those great shots and great combinations. I don’t think you can take that away from them for someone that has had it in them for such a long time. That’s always going to be ingrained in them.
“I think he’s still going to have it him, and what a massive opportunity it would be for me,” said Khan.
I’m sure Oscar will find that touching that Khan is saying that he’ll still idolize him after he hurts him or knocks him out. If Khan isn’t careful, he could scare De La Hoya away entirely.