By Michael Collins: Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO’s) will be staging his next fight in the UK on April 27th against possibly former IBF lightweight champion Julio Diaz (40-7-1, 29 KO’s). Khan’s team reportedly attempted to get catchweight fights against Vyacheslav Senchenko, Jessie Vargas, Juan Manuel Marquez, Humberto Soto and Tim Bradley, but none were interested.
Amir Khan
Amir Khan boxing news
Khan vs. Senchenko possible for April 20th in Manchester, UK
By Michael Collins: Amir Khan is reportedly in negotiations with former WBA World welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko for a fight that is possible for April 20th at the Manchester Arena. To make the fight happen, Khan might have to move up to 147, but it’s also possible that Senchenko will come down to 140 for the right price.
It’ll be a big payday for Senchenko because he’s asking for a considerable amount to take the fight.
In picking Senchenko, Khan would be looking to capitalize on the interest that Manchester fans might have in seeing Senchenko beaten after he destroyed their hero Ricky Hatton by a 9th round TKO last November in Hatton’s disastrous comeback attempt. Of course, it wouldn’t be Hatton that is avenging the loss, but for some boxing fans in Manchester it might make them happy to see a fellow Brit to beat Senchenko.
If Khan does move up in weight it’ll only be for just this one because he still feels he’s got unfinished business at 140 against the likes Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson. Besides that, there are a lot of big punchers at welterweight and I really don’t know if Khan’s chin could handle getting hit hard over and over again by the likes of Victor Ortiz, Marcos Maidana, Kell Brook, and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Khan considering Senchenko, Ortiz and Lopez for April fight; will be choosing this week
By Michael Collins: Former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan says he’ll be making an announcement about his next opponent for April this week. He’s meeting with Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer in the UK to pick from one of the following fighters: Victor Ortiz, Josesito Lopez and Vyachaeslav Senchenko.
Khan said to Sky Sports “There are several opponents we’re looking at. A lot of people are talking about Josesito Lopez, Victor Ortiz, Senchenko, the guy that beat Ricky Hatton. There are few names that we have been put there. I’m one of those fighters that will fight anyone. I never said no to an opponent and I never will. Whoever they find for me, we’ll find out in the next couple of days. I have to meet with Richard Schaefer and we’re going to talk about an opponent. So the next couple of days we’re going to announce who I’ll be fighting.”
I don’t care to see Khan fight Josesito Lopez. I’m not that interested in seeing Khan fight a guy that was just destroyed by WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. I don’t care that Lopez beat Victor Ortiz, I still don’t like the idea of Khan fighting someone that was beaten as badly as Lopez was. I’d prefer to see Lopez rebuild his career before fighting someone because it’s just off putting to see Khan get fed a guy coming off of a knockout loss.
Khan: I WILL fight Floyd Mayweather Jr; his team is interested
By Michael Collins: Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO’s) still has his mind set on facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26 KO’s) for a mega fight, and Khan thinks Mayweather will stick around the sport long enough for him to make that fight happen.
Khan to fight in April; thinks he’ll be fighting for title
By Michael Collins: Amir Khan says he’ll be fighting in April in a title fight against one of the world champions at 140. Which champion is still unknown, but he thinks he’s going to be facing one them and he plans on then taking on WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia after that with the belt that he wins in his April bout.
Can Amir Khan make it back to the top?
By Jacob Roberts: Last Saturday Amir Khan gained his first win for nearly 18 months with a TKO victory against overmatched Carlos Molina. It was a must win fight for Khan, who’s reputation was in tatters after successive defeats in the last year. Forced into a rebuilding process, he is now remoulding his style with the help of new trainer Virgil Hunter.
Amir Khan signs deal with Showtime for three fights
By Michael Collins: Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO’s) may not be with HBO anymore following his losses to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia, but he’s now signed on with Showtime for a three fight deal, which should take him through the end up next year.
A three fight deal is a nice safe number for Showtime because if things go to pieces with Khan in terms of him getting knocked out left and right then Showtime won’t be left with a lemon that nobody in the boxing world wants to see.
It’s likely that Khan won’t run into trouble for his first fight of his contract with Showtime because he’s being mentioned as possibly taking on Josesito Lopez in April. That’s a very winnable fight for Khan, because Lopez, as good as he is, he’s not really a puncher.
He’s just a guy with a lot of heart that likes to go to war with his opponents despite not being a huge puncher and not being all that fast either. Lopez would have likely lost to Victor Ortiz had Ortiz not quit on his stool after the 9th round.
Khan could end up fighting Danny Garcia in the middle of 2013. I honestly don’t believe that Golden Boy Promotions will make this fight, I really don’t. If they make that fight it’ll be like them putting another loss on Khan’s record because he’s really not ready to fight Garcia again.
Don’t jump on the Amir Khan band wagon just yet
by Paul Strauss, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime: Yes, Khan looked impressive on Showtime against Carlos Molina last night at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. His hand and foot speed were there. But, they’ve always been there. Initially last night, there did seem to be one thing that was different. Khan seemed calmer and less herky-jerky. He walked and shuffled when out of range instead of hopping and running. But, Molina’s smaller stature, short arms and less than knockout power provided the opportunity for Khan to show off a bit.
The fact is Khan is still very hittable. The shorter Molina tagged him plenty of times, but unfortunately for Molina, he just doesn’t have true junior welterweight power. Khan’s people knew that when the match was made. As a result of that power deficiency, Khan was able to take risks, to stay in the pocket more often than he should have, and to show off with shoe-shine like displays without real risk of penalty.
The fact is Khan still drops his hands when attempting to rip off combinations. For example, when throwing his left, whether a jab or hook, his right glove is still too low, which allowed Molina to land several counter left hooks. Khan doesn’t get under the shot either.
Khan injures both hands in win over Molina
By Bill Phanco: Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO’s) may have looked like he was enjoying himself in dominating an over-matched Carlos Molina (17-1, 7 KO’s) last Saturday night in bludgeoning him into a 10th round stoppage win, but Khan ended up fracturing both hands in doing so.
Amir Khan successful in first fight with new trainer Virgil Hunter
by Geoffrey Ciani, photos by Tom Casino / Showtime – Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KOs) ended a two fight losing streak when he impressively defeated an overmatched Carlos Molina (17-1-1, 7 KOs) last night in Los Angeles. This marked the first time Khan was paired up with new head trainer Virgil Hunter, who is best known for his long term working relationship with rising pound-for-pound superstar Andre Ward. The new team made a good impression in their first effort together, with Khan in complete control of the action that ultimately came to an end when Molina’s corner stopped the contest after the tenth.
Even though Khan and Hunter have only worked together eight weeks, Hunter already seemed to have a visible impact on Khan’s performance. Amir was very patient in the early going and was measured in his approach, especially when it came to attacking. Everything for Khan started with his jab, and this helped create openings where he could unleash short three and four punch combinations that possessed a nice blend of speed and precision. He would throw a short series of shots, reposition himself, throw another combination, and then calmly take a stroll to establish new perspective, resetting the action where he could resume controlling the range to his liking. As Showtime commentator Paulie Malignaggi noted, “There he goes again, Khan is taking a walk”. Amir was composed.