Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag – Mayweather vs Khan, Golovkin, Donaire, & Steven A. Smith

10/15/2014 Vivek Wallace

Barry N. (Houston, TX): Floyd Mayweather has ripped several people in the news lately and it’s not only uncalled for, but also kind of hard to understand it all. What do you think is really going on with him lately?

Vivek W. (ESB): The on-going drama we’ve seen lately between these four men have somewhat reached a boiling point. While Smith and Mayweather Sr. have stepped away from the table, it seems little Floyd and Khan still have a few things to air out, which we’ve heard lately. There are so many different angles to this discussion that I don’t even know where to start, but I guess the safest statement for me to lead off with is the fact that I think there’s a hint of truth to all of their respective positions, with the exception of maybe Steven A. Smith’s.

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Khan questions whether Mayweather can outbox him

10/15/2014 T.Baker

Recently ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith said on his “First Take” program on ESPN that he felt that if WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr opted to face Amir Khan but not World Boxing Organization 147lb champion Manny Pacquiao in one of his last two remaining fights that he would come on ESPN and say Mayweather is avoiding a fight against Pacquiao.

Smith had no problems with Mayweather finishing his career with fights against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Miguel Cotto, because he felt those two fighters were worthy for Mayweather to fight instead of Pacquiao. But Smith doesn’t believe Khan is worthy of a fight against Mayweather, as he points out that Khan was destroyed by Danny Garcia in four rounds just two years ago in 2012, and that Khan doesn’t have the same box office appeal as Mayweather does.

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Mayweather: Khan has Danny Garcia problems & Pacquiao has Marquez problems

10/10/2014 Rob Smith

WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr says the recent quotes coming from a British boxing site about him being interested in facing Amir Khan are total lies. Mayweather says he didn’t make those quotes, and he’s not sure who he plans on fighting next.

Mayweather says Khan still has unfinished business with WBA/WBC 140lb champion Danny Garcia, who knocked Khan out in the 4th round two years ago in July 2012. Khan never avenged the loss to Garcia, and he still hasn’t avenged his losses to Breidis Prescott and Lamont Peterson.

Mayweather also says that Manny Pacquiao still has unfinished business with Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao was knocked out cold by Marquez in the 6th round by him two years ago, and he still hasn’t fought Marquez since then to try and avenge the defeat. Marquez reportedly priced himself out of the November fight against Pacquiao by asking for too much money.

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Mayweather: I’ll punish Khan if the fight happens

10/09/2014 T.Baker

Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) is starting to show interest in facing British boxing star Amir Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) after listening to the fighter call him out for well over a year now. Mayweather says his father Floyd Sr really wants him to fight Khan to shut him up for good and he’s thinking about doing that.

Mayweather isn’t saying he’ll absolutely face him, but he says he wants to fight him if he feels he’s earned the fight.

Khan does have wins over Zab Judah, Paulie Malignaggi, Luis Collazo and Marcos Maidana. But Khan failed when he stepped it up against 1st tier fighters Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia in 2011 and 2012.

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Khan would give Mayweather problems, says Malignaggi

10/10/201410/09/2014 T.Baker

The more and more former two division world boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi thinks Floyd Mayweather Jr could be in for a really tough time against Amir Khan if he selects him as one of his opponents in 2015. Malignggi says Khan’s hand speed, height, reach and overall fighting style would give Mayweather fits at this point in his career.

Malignaggi feels that Maywether can move around the ring like he used to, and unless he’s able to move a great deal, he’ll struggle against the younger 28-year-old Khan if that fight gets made.

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De La Hoya: Why not Amir Khan vs. Lamont Peterson in Washington, D.C?

10/07/2014 Bill Phanco

Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions floated the idea today of Amir Khan facing IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson in Washington, DC. Khan previously fought Peterson in that city three years ago in Khan losing by a 12 round split decision after being docked points in the 7th and 12th rounds for shoving Peterson.

The referee working the fight Joseph Cooper had repeatedly warned Khan to stop shoving Peterson, but Khan had no other alternative because he was getting worked over by him on the inside and he didn’t have any other way of keeping Peterson off of him other than by shoving him.

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Kell Brook to fight in February

10/07/2014 Bill Phanco

IBF welterweight belt holder Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs) has targeted February for his next fight date against an opponent still to be determined. Brook was stabbed last September while on holiday in Tenerife, and he’ll be coming back from that injury. Brook wants to fight either Floyd Mayweather Jr or Amir Khan, but those opponents will probably not be in the cards for the 28-year-old Brook.

We’ll likely see Brook facing one of the names that his promoter Eddie Hearn was previously mentioning for him to fight on December 6th before Brook was stabbed and unable to fight on that date. Hearn was talking about matching Brook against a fighter that Americans would recognize like Brandon Rios, Andre Berto or Josesito Lopez.

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Malignaggi, Mayweather/Pacquiao, Thurman/Kahn, & Danny Garcia!

10/02/201410/01/2014 Vivek Wallace

Austin E. (Charlotte, NC): Paulie Malignaggi was recently quoted saying that he feels Thurman and Khan both have enough in their arsenal to defeat Mayweather and Pacquaio. I was curious to hear your thoughts on his words and whether or not you find them true?

Vivek W. (ESB): Malignaggi is one of those guys who has earned my respect both in and outside of the ring. Despite his limited power, I always viewed him as a fighter who had a very strong grip on the fundamental element of boxing. Listening to him in the role of commentator, I think his words solidify that position, as I think he’s a complete natural at breaking it all down. Few have done a better job than Paulie behind the mic, as it relates to articulating how certain fighters need to go about execution to gain victory in a given match. I think this is the first time I totally questioned his logic, but in all truthfulness, I can’t say that he’s wrong, either.

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Is Mayweather more at risk against Khan and Thurman rather than Pacquiao?

09/29/2014 Rob Smith

While many boxing fans believe that Manny Pacquiao presents the biggest risk to the unbeaten record of Floyd Mayweather Jr, Paulie Malignaggi is under the belief that Pacquiao would be an easy fight for Mayweather at this stage in Pacquiao’s career. Malignaggi doesn’t say why he believes that but it could have something to do with how poor Pacquiao looked in his last fight against a quality fighter in Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.

Pacquiao looked terrible in that fight before getting knocked out in the 6th round. Since then, Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has eased him back in terms of competition by putting him in with Brandon Rios and Tim Bradley, and Pacquiao was able to resume winning again.

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Khan could be next for Mayweather, says Floyd Sr

09/22/2014 Jeff Sorby

If trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr knows what he’s talking about, we could see former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan sharing the ring with WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr next May on Cinco de Mayo at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Floyd Sr, who is generally quite blunt in his opinions, said that the 28-year-old Khan is No.1 on the list for Mayweather’s next fight.

“More than likely it won’t be Pacquiao. I would say Amir Khan is No.1 on the list, but that’s still not even permanent,” Floyd Sr. told Hit First Boxing. “There’s still a few other fighters out there. I can’t say who’s permanent unless they ask for it.”

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