Mayweather vs. Khan a bad rumor with a lot of truth to it.. by James Le Blanc

By @James_theGrad - 10/03/2013 - Comments

khan6by James Le Blanc: The boxing world has been buzzing with news out of England that Amir Khan was going to back out of a fight with IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander this December in order to preserve himself for a match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. next year in May.

The logic behind this was that Alexander was too high a risk, and that losing to him would ensure Khan would never get the mega match he has been dreaming and talking about for years. When I heard the news, not knowing if they were true or not, I immediately knew that it was a bad move for Khan and would bring certainty that he would NOT fight Floyd in May if he were to avoid the Alexander fight.

Mayweather has strategically fought the best opponent’s available coming off of sensational victories in recent years; this is the recipe to getting a fight with him. Khan’s last outing was against an old veteran in Julio Diaz that rocked Khan and dropped him while losing a unanimous decision to Khan. Long story short Khan did not look so great in his last few fights, he is much different from the Amir Khan that was running through the 140lb division a few years ago. With no exceptional recent win how would Floyd justify fighting a presumed washed up Amir Khan?

ESPN’s Dan Rafael recently got to the bottom of all the madness and an official statement from Khans camp is that he is training for a potential match with Alexander.

Alexander’s camp, frustrated that talks have gone on for months with no ink, has given Khan a few days to sign a contract or they will move on to other options and another date.

So it was a bad rumor, and people were spreading it on twitter like wild fire. Some approved of the match up and most did not. But what I found interesting in all this is that Stephen Espinoza, Showtime Executive is recently quoted that he likes the match up.

Getting the network behind a potential match-up is roughly 80% of the battle as Andre Ward would tell you and even before these hellacious rumors surfaced the potential fight between Amir Khan and Devon Alexander was already dubbed as an audition for Mayweather’s next opponent.

At this point every fight at welterweight on Showtime is an audition. The fact is Amir Khan stands out above the rest because of his skill set, exceptional offensive skills, and his fans. He has that questionable chin, but tearing Devon Alexander apart (which I think he can do) will set him up as a front runner, a welterweight title holder, and a guy that will go at Mayweather the way many feel Manny Pacquaio would do.

I think the last few days have been a precursor for things to come, and that is Amir Khan in a unification bout with Mayweather next year.

Follow me on Twitter @James_theGrad



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