By Lem Satterfield
Las Vegas - WBA junior welterweight Amir Khan (23-1, 17 knockouts) will be ringside at the Mandalay Bay to watch the pay-per-view rematch between WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 KOs) and challenger Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs). Marquez is the leading contender to become Khan's next opponent. HBO has set aside December 11 for Khan's next fight.
Khan will be an interested spectator at ringside for Marquez-Diaz, as will Australia's , the mandatory challenger to the winner of Saturday night's bout.
If Khan had a choice, the opponent at the top of his list would be interim-WBA champion Marcos Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs). Another top choice would interim-WBO lightweight king Michael Katsidis (27-2, 22 KOs), who is another interested party in the Marquez-Diaz outcome.
"There's guys like Maidana. I'd love to fight him just to shut him and people up. Because of my boxing skills, I know that I can beat him. I've got long arms, and I don't think that he'll be able to cope with the speed and the power. Also, there's other names like Michael Katsidis," Khan said.
"I think that that would be a great fight as well. Styles make fights, and I think our styles would make a very explosive fight. In the 140-pound division, at the moment, I think that there are a lot of fights that will make a big fight. So let's just see what happens. You have Victor Ortiz there as well. You have Juan Manuel Marquez there as well. We'll just have to see what happens."
As far as the selection of his next opponent, Khan left it in hands of his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions.
"I gave [Golden Boy Promotions CEO] Richard Schaefer a list of fighters I wanted to fight. There was Maidana in there, and there was Victor Ortiz. And he's going to give me the best package for a fight where I can make the best deal. At the end of the day, boxing is a business. So I've left it to Richard. I'm going to enjoy Ramadan. I've got a month off until I get back into training. So I've given Richard the names, and he's going to come back to me," Khan said.
The picture will become clearer in the aftermath of the Marquez-Diaz rematch. A few months ago, Golden Boy tried to make a match between Khan and Marquez. The Mexican fighter, coming off a high-profile bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., had no interest in being a "stepping stone," as Marquez called it, for Khan. If Marquez beats Deal for a second time, Khan hopes a deal will be reached the second time around.
"That's one of the reasons that I've come here, you know? To see Marquez fight and to beat him as well. We offered the fight to Marquez before I fought Paulie Malignaggi, and he refused the deal. He refused to fight. So now, if he comes out of here with a good performance, and he wins this fight, I think that that would be a big fight and a big name for me to take on next," Khan said.
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here .
