By Cliff Rold
2004 Olympic Silver Medalist Amir Khan (15-0, 12 KO) is not quite ready for the Lightweight elite just yet, but the powers behind the purse strings will be ready and willing to embrace him when he gets there.
It’s just a matter of time. With the dollar potential building in each fight, how much time will be a balancing act between what is best for the fighter and best for the bank.
So far, the fighter has come first.
How long that can last is another question. Only 21 year olds, Khan is already a bankable star in his native United Kingdom and, unlike popular British imports Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Hatton, and Nassem Hamed, there has been significant interest in the U.S. market since he turned professional based on the Olympic impressions he left. That he has been a professional less than three years is no matter. The cash register is already calling.
This weekend Khan will make his next logical step up in competition with a bout against faded but still solid Gairy St. Clair (39-5-2, 17 KO) of Guyana.
In his last bout, he nuked veteran Graham Earl in 72 seconds less than a year after Earl’s classic with current Lightweight contender Michael Katsidis. St. Clair should take him deeper in terms of rounds and water this weekend before ultimately falling.
Such is the way with the grooming of a star. There are two ways to build one that seem tested and reliable. One is to set up a string of no hopers for early exits, the means towards the end creation of a new monster. This is the path once trod by a young George Foreman or Mike Tyson.
The other path comes with more peril and, often, more rewards. That is the path of the steady increase, the evolving test. That was the path taken in the past by fighters like Oscar De La Hoya and Sugar Ray Leonard. It is the path that builds confidence in a young fighter as they learn, step by step, what they are capable of beyond their physical talent. Khan got his first such lesson last July against Willie Limond in capturing British Commonwealth Lightweight title.
Limond came into the bout with 29 fights under his belt to Khan’s 12 and it showed when, in the sixth, Khan was badly hurt and dropped to the deck.
A fighter worth investing in gets up in that situation and finds a way to win; a fighter worth investing heavily in gets up and turns the tables completely. Khan did the latter, dropping Limond in the seventh and forcing him to retire after eight in a fight that left fans on their feet.
Earlier in his career St. Clair went the distance in losing efforts with notable then-future titlists Vivian Harris, Leonard Dorin and the late Diego Corrales and has never been stopped. He has the potential to ask more questions of Khan and if the answers remain positive then Khan remains one of the most important young figures in the sport.
After the box office showings Ricky Hatton made stateside in 2007, and the showing Calzaghe will likely make with Bernard Hopkins this April, there is no doubt that America’s best Lightweights, particularly titlist Juan Diaz, will have every interest in Khan’s growth. Wise management would try to lure Khan onto the big stage before he poses a maximum threat.
The top of the Lightweight division is tied up for most of 2008 with the matters of Diaz’ contract issues with Don King, his bout with Nate Campbell, and the World Lightweight title tilt between Joel Casamayor and Katsidis. Rational hope is that all of that is window dressing leading to Diaz-Katsidis as the pot at the end of the rainbow. That leaves Khan safe to continue what so far has been excellent development.
But once the big pot is purged, Khan will likely be there as an even bigger one. Will he be as boxing ready as he will be box office ready? Can he afford not to be? The development of Amir Khan promises to be fascinating stuff for the rest of 2008.
Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
