By Edward Chaykovsky
In a very odd move, the WBC has released their new ratings and presented former WBA/IBF 140-pound champion Amir Khan with the number #2 ranking position, which puts him very close to securing a shot at the winner of the May 4th battle between WBC 147-pound champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and mandatory challenger Robert Guerrero.
Khan is only one position below Luis Carlos Abregu, who faces a very stiff test in Antonin Decarie on April 27th in Argentina. If Abregu is defeated, you could very well see Khan boosted up to the number one spot or get placed in a final eliminator for the mandatory position.
Khan (27-3, 19KOs) also returns on April 27th, in Sheffield, against veteran Julio Diaz. Khan has never fought in the welterweight division and that fact alone has raised questions on why the WBC gave Khan the number two spot in their rankings. Even the fight with Diaz is being fought at a catch-weight of 143-pounds.
The only logic is the WBC's hope that Khan, still a superstar in the UK, will face Mayweather sooner than later. There have been discussions about a Mayweather-Khan showdown for the last two years, but Khan's unexpected defeats to Lamont Petersion and Danny Garcia pushed that fight back.
Khan recently signed an exclusive agreement with Showtime, and Mayweather just signed his own multi-fight contract with the same network.
