Following Amir Khan’s convincing, unanimous points victory over Devon Alexander last night in Las Vegas. Well, even before that victory, the talk from Khan and his camp has been about him being ready for a fight with Floyd Mayweather and confident of being the first fighter to defeat him.
I’m sure many would agree with that statement but in my eyes his last two victories, albeit convincing points wins over Luis Collazo and Devon Alexander, does not warrant a fight with Floyd as yet.
I do agree that if anyone has the skills or the style to trouble Floyd it could be Khan and there is no better time than now to fight Mayweather.
Though it will be a great commercial Anglo/American bout, as we all know boxing is about timing. Right now, with all the talk of Mayweather v Pacquiao, though it is 3/5 years behind schedule, that fight needs to be made.
Khan has a ready-made domestic battle to take care of in the shape of Kell Brook. Everybody knows Mayweather’s last two fights will be in May and September. This will give ample amount of time for the May bout to be made with Pacquiao. This needs to happen now, the public can’t wait any longer.
It will also give ample amount of time to take care of domestic business. I think too often British fighters go searching for the stateside carrot before they have taken care of business at home. Look at the euphoria and the attention Froch v Groves generated.
Khan v Brook has that genuine needle. They both are genuine world level fighters and there will be a recognised world title belt on the line.
For me, even though Khan has looked much better in his last two fights. It’s not taught me anymore than what I already knew about Khan.
His footwork, balance and ring movement looked better but with a trainer such as Virgil Hunter (who trains Andre Ward) and against a walk forward, hands down fighter like Collazo and a quick but non dynamic or heavy puncher like Alexander it’s what I expected.
Brook is the type of fight and fighter that will bring out the best in Khan and will give the public a better idea of his full credentials. It will however, be interesting to see if or how Brook will recover from his recent stabbing but time will tell.
I know Khan is desperate for that Mayweather fight, not just for the money but the glory of trying to be the first fighter to defeat him.
Unfortunately, though he has wanted that fight for a while, the public has wanted the Mayweather v Pacquiao fight for longer.
Khan has talked about Brook not being on his level, saying he is looking at elite fighters such as Mayweather and Pacquiao but Brook is world champion and undefeated.
At the moment Brook holds a version of the Welterweight title (IBF) with Pacquiao holding the WBO and Mayweather holding the WBA and WBC.
So regardless of what Khan says who has done, right now Brook is the one in a position to talk. Plus, I’m sure it will be a much better negotiating tool to go into a potential fight with Mayweather or Pacquiao bringing a title belt to the table.
I feel the world needs to be aligned with a collective push to try to make Mayweather v Pacquiao happen in May. Khan v Brook could even happen either side of that date. That would be a monumental few weeks or month in boxing history.
Then the winners of each bout could clash in September for a massive unification, winner takes all bout. This would certainly make 2015 a memorable year in the sport of boxing.
