Exhibition bouts featuring big names are still proving to be a hit and a thing of interest. Sure, these events are not to everyone’s taste, yet others do enjoy seeing a big name/former champ back in there, putting on a show. Ricky Hatton – who, if nothing else, has got his weight down far lower than plenty of us felt he would be capable of doing – faces Marco Antonio Barrera in an exhibition fight in July, while Floyd Mayweather has stated he will be back on the exhibition circuit later this year.
And Amir Khan has called Mayweather out. For years, when it was for real, Khan chased a fight with Mayweather yet it never came. Now, the itch to share a ring with Mayweather still there to be scratched, Khan wants to box “Money” in an exhibition bout this year. Khan says Floyd “needs a real challenge.”
“I think Floyd needs a real challenge,” Khan told azizdxb after watching footage of Mayweather’s exhibition bout with Don Moore. “We should do it, 100 percent guys. Either hit me up or hit my brother up. I’m calling him out! Let’s make it happen.”
Mayweather against Khan is actually an exhibition bout that could prove worth watching. Khan always believed his fast hands would cause Mayweather major problems and even now, Khan’s fast hands would possibly be capable of making Mayweather think in there. For sure, Khan against Mayweather would be a big improvement over Mayweather against Tenshin Nasukawa, Jake Paul and Moore.
It’s not pay-per-view worthy (no exhibition bout is, really), but Mayweather and Khan, both in shape, still with something to prove, in Khan’s case especially, could give us a lively bout. Mayweather is used to having things all his own way when he boxes an exhibition and maybe Khan could actually make Floyd work, not just coast. Maybe.
If the exhibition trend continues (and it sure looks as though it will), the match-ups should at least be interesting. Mayweather’s previous exhibition bouts were all guilty of being “fights” where we knew what would happen, that Floyd would have his way. It’s been a long time since Mayweather faced an opponent as fast as Khan and, even in exhibition form, this match-up could prove to be somewhat spicy.
Khan wouldn’t be going in there to pull his punches, put it that way. Who has the edge in speed at this late stage of both men’s careers, a time when both Mayweather and Khan are officially retired? Khan had his faults as a fighter, yes, but his very real desire to face the best was not one of them. It’s a shame Khan never got a shot against Mayweather. Now, we could get a taste of what might have gone down via an exhibition bout.
Would you tune in if Mayweather and Khan met in exhibition form?