By James Slater – Although some big names of the sport are currently talking openly about a possible Amir Khan-Floyd Mayweather Junior fight – David Haye, who says he thinks Khan would have a great chance of beating Mayweather, and Oscar De La Hoya who, as a promoter, very much wants to see the fight happen – Khan’s former promoter has referred to such a move as “madness.”
Khan himself has said a number of times that he wants to become known as the best fighter on the planet, and that the way to do that is to beat Mayweather. Khan has also said that he realises that that fight is not going to happen next, that he is shooting for the big one a number of months from now. And Warren, who saw Khan leave him and sign up with Golden Boy Promotions earlier this year, agrees that Khan has to be patient..
“He doesn’t want Mayweather,” Warren said of Khan when speaking with The Manchester Evening News. “He’s got to go up in weight to fight Mayweather – it’s madness. It’s great talk and keeps your name in the frame, but not yet.
“He needs to be patient. He needs to clean up the [140 pound] division first of all.”
Warren is totally correct when he says talk of a Khan-Mayweather fight happening any time soon is madness. Just because Khan got past the murderous punching Marcos Maidana (and for that win Khan does deserve a ton of credit), it does not mean he is ready for the silky skills of the masterful Mayweather. In any case, Floyd has to get his legal troubles sorted out before he will know himself if he can even fight again.
But Warren did say “not yet,” when speaking about the Dream Fight Khan has on his mind. Would Warren and other experts be in favour of Khan taking on Mayweather if he has further proved himself in the meantime by unifying the 140-pound titles? If Khan were able to produce a win over the winner of the upcoming Tim Bradley-Devon Alexander fight (set for January in Detroit), would that make him a worthy foe for “Money?”
Khan’s critics do not seem to want to give the WBA light-welterweight champion any chance of landing a fight with Mayweather, much less of winning it. Calling Khan delusional for even thinking he is worthy of a fight with the all-time great (and we all agree, the fight should not happen for a year or so), these critics are angry at Khan’s “nerve.”
But if Bradley, for example, was calling for the same fight, would the same anger that is aimed at Khan be felt towards him? Guys as talented and as hungry to be the best such as Bradley and Khan should be applauded for seeking out the biggest and best fights.
Pretty soon, we should have an undisputed 140-pound champion; a fighter who has indeed cleaned up that weight class. And whether that man is Khan, Bradley or Alexander, what else will there be for him but a move up to welterweight? And once he’s there, why wouldn’t he take aim at Mayweather?