Khan: Murray's Loss Proves He is Not World Class Level

By Rick Reeno

WBA 140-pound champion Amir Khan, was an interested observer in last Saturday's lightweight encounter between two of his countrymen, John Murray and Kevin Mitchell. Murray, undefeated and the betting favorite, saw his record snapped when he was knocked out by Mitchell in the eight round.

For quite a while, Murray was demanding a fight with Khan. And at one time the two camps were negotiating to stage a fight but were unable to reach an agreement. Khan was a little bit surprised by the loss, but he believes the performance reflects on Murray's overall abilities as a fighter.

"It's unfortunate that he got beat, but we offered him a lot of money at one time to take a fight and he didn't take that fight. I think that just shows what kind of class he is [with the Mitchell loss]. He's not on a world class level. He got beat up by a guy who is another domestic fighter. He was always calling me out and stuff but now he's realized that he's not even the best in his own division," Khan told BoxingScene.com.