Floyd Mayweather Jr. is known to be a walking contradiction and rightfully so. There have been many instances when Mayweather has made a statement, then denies ever saying it, or later on says the polar opposite of his original claim. A recent video has been edited that shows Mayweather justifying Khan as a viable opponent about a year ago, and then discrediting him at a recent WBC convention.
When Mayweather had the option of choosing Khan or Maidana, he was asked why Khan would be a solid opponent. Mayweather told Fighthype.com, “He’s had a couple of impressive victories. But the thing I like about Amir Khan is that he has a pretty cool fan base. So that fight would make a lot of sense.”
It is now clear Mayweather favored to fight Maidana despite Khan winning in a poll he put up himself, due to the fact Khan was coming off a shaky performance against a 35 year old Julio Diaz. Before that bout Khan defeated Carlos Molina in a not so impressive fashion, and one fight prior to that bout, Danny Garcia stopped him in four rounds. From this vantage point Khan had no real momentum in his career, and the boxing world would have protested that Khan did not deserve an opportunity against Mayweather just yet. Mayweather’s team felt Maidana would have been a more reasonable choice given the fact he was coming off of four victories, with his latest win being against the highly touted Adrien Broner.
Fast forward a year, Khan has finally put himself in a great position to square off against Mayweather, due to his dominating performances against Luis Collazo and Devon Alexander. It would be expected Mayweather would be all for facing Khan, but ESNEWS recorded Mayweather stating at the WBC convention, “Once again Amir Khan the other night, I think he’s done 4,000 [fans in attendance]. His name holds no weight.”
This is a true contradiction. First he states Khan has a great fan base, but now denies it. When taking a closer look at the situation, this is justifiable in Mayweather’s part and here’s the reason why.
Right after Mayweather defeated Maidana in their rematch, he continued to show interest in Khan, but was hounded by the media for it. Stephen A. Smith on First Take stated, “Floyd Mayweather Jr. continues to tell the public that he wants to give the fans what we want to see. My response is people have been asking for Pacquiao for years. There is no excuse to pass on Manny Pacquiao, particularly if what you’re coming to us is with Amir Khan. When you talk about a premier fight for boxing fans to see, we don’t give a damn about Amir Khan when it comes to who we want to see in the ring with Floyd Mayweather Jr.”
Afterwards Mayweather decided to go live on the Showtime network, and practically told the boxing world Manny Pacquiao is his main focus. He made this statement a day before the Amir Khan vs. Devon Alexander fight took place.
Now after Khan’s dominating performance, Mayweather is being criticized for not focusing on Khan, only on Pacquiao.
From a financial point of view, a bout between Mayweather and Pacquiao still seems as the most lucrative match that can be made in boxing. This is why Mayweather has tunnel vision on solely facing Pacquiao, as he stated before the Khan-Alexander bout even took place.
For Mayweather to be criticized on this situation, it’s difficult. If he chooses to fight Khan people would be upset he doesn’t fight Pacquiao. If he chooses to fight Pacquiao people will believe he’s avoiding Khan. There will always be mixed opinions on this matter. Paulie Malignaggi has stated Khan definitely deserves a shot against Mayweather, and Abel Sanchez told Tha Boxing Voice, Khan doesn’t deserve the opportunity just yet.
People have argued why doesn’t Mayweather just face Pacquaio in September and fight Khan in May. There are two reasons why. The first being, Golden Boy Promotions announced via twitter, Canelo-Cotto would not happen in May 2nd if Mayweather-Pacquiao gets made. It seems Mayweather will only get the date that he’s been fighting on for the past several years if he fights Pacquiao. The second reason is the demand for the fight is starting to rise again to high levels. This seems as another perfect opportunity for Mayweather and Pacquiao to step in the ring and generate a very large amount of revenue. If Mayweather waits, and Pacquiao or Mayweather suffers a setback, the most lucrative fight in boxing becomes diminished.
The problem with this is, if Mayweather does fight Pacquiao on May 2nd, Khan will not have a chance to face Mayweather because of his refusal to fight in September for religious reasons, but by then who knows if Khan will still have momentum in his career, or suffers a loss.
Either way as stated before, criticism will arise no matter which opponent Mayweather faces next. The most logical choice would be a bout with Pacquiao due to the magnitude of the fight, financial opportunities, to help distinguish the feud between Al Haymon and Top Rank, and to finally diminish the criticism of not facing Pacquiao.
