In a recently published video on FightHype.com’s YouTube channel, Amir Khan spoke about the possibility of not fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. and being passed on yet again.
Khan was in the running to fight Mayweather Jr. and pulled out of a fight with Devon Alexander last year in hopes of landing the May 2014 date with the boxing cash cow. Instead, Floyd opted to fight Marcos Maidana after the Argentine fighter beat Mayweather’s protégé Adrien Broner at the end of 2013.
Khan was embarrassed on a very public stage, but the window remained open for a potential fight in the future with Floyd.
Now it is Khan with the end of the year momentum after defeating Alexander a few weeks ago, a year later than their original date. Khan is in high hopes, but with recent reports suggesting a long awaited showdown between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, Khan could again find himself on the outside of the big fight.
Mayweather has been public about his opinions on Amir Khan and has teased other potential opponents, likely as a strategy to make Khan realize that Floyd doesn’t need Khan as much as Khan needs him, or perhaps just to further torture Khan.
In the video, Khan was asked what would happen if he was passed up again, specifically if he was passed over for fellow UK fighter Kell Brook, whose status is at an all-time high after beating Shawn Porter for the IBF version of the welterweight title.
“Then you just let be. Then, it just shows that Floyd is on the run,” Khan told FightHype. “If it happens then I wish him all the best. [Floyd] will never be seen as a legend in the sport or never be seen like the likes of “Sugar” Ray Leonard. “Sugar” Ray Leonard fought all the top guys — [Marvin] Hagler, [Thomas] Hearns — he fought everyone and Mayweather is never going to be one of them fighters like the Tommy Hearns and Haglers and Leonards because, obviously, he’s avoiding a lot of the big fighters.”
It would be less embarrassing for Khan if he is overlooked by Mayweather in favor of the Pacquiao mega fight. However, that fight is still very doubtful to many boxing insiders and that knowledge gives Khan some hope because he knows that there aren’t many big fights for Mayweather and no other opponent can offer the star magnitude of Amir Khan, specifically on the global level.
“I can’t see Floyd avoiding me because he wants to be one of the best fighters in the world, even though he says ‘Amir’s not big enough.’ What I bring to the table is huge. I bring countries to the table. Being a Muslim, being a Pakistani, having a huge fan base in India where they’ve got a billion people living there, Pakistan is half a billion, and you’ve got England, and Floyd says I’m not big enough.
“If Mayweather wants to be a global star then he has to fight someone who has a big following in other countries like myself. If Floyd still says I’m not a big name I’ll promise Floyd one thing: come to England, I’ll show you how big I am, I’ll sellout Wembley Stadium fighting you. That’s a 100% guarantee. I think that answers his question how popular Amir Khan is.”
I never loved the idea of Mayweather-Khan, but boxing is a sport that reconditions its fans by depriving them of what they really want to see. You first learn to live with the disappointment, then you start to consider the lesser alternatives as quality choices because you unconsciously compare them to the terrible fights of recent years past.
I must admit I am starting to see Mayweather-Khan as a better fight and bigger fight as month’s progress. Even if I’ve been duped, and even if others would disagree, you can’t overlook the fact that Khan is more suitable than Mayweather’s past opponents. If you operate under that notion, then Khan is as big as it gets with the restrictive nature of boxing politics.
“I’m bigger than Maidana, I’m a bigger name than Victor Ortiz and [Robert] Guerrero. Fine, maybe I’m on the same level [as Canelo] or maybe he’s a little bit bigger than me, but other than that I’m bigger than all the fighters he’s fought. On top of that, I beat Maidana as well.”
