By Carlos Boogs
Earlier today, the World Boxing Council released a list of fighters who failed to register for their Clean Boxing program. Fighters who railed to register for the program by the WBC's deadline were removed from the rankings or stripped of their world title. Registration was mandatory for every fighter ranked in the top 15 or holding a belt under the WBC.
There were several notable names and former world champions on the list - including former world champion Amir Khan (31-4, 19KOs).
Khan's inclusion on that list is interesting, because as of last week he was the mandatory challenger to WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia.
The WBC released their rankings for the month of October and Khan has been removed from the number one position. His name has been replaced by Andre Berto, now ranked at 1.
Ironically, there were ongoing negotiations for Garcia to face Berto on October 15th. According to Berto, Garcia refused to sign the contract and the card fell apart. Garcia is now slated to return next month in Philadelphia against an opponent to be announced. John Molina was the last name mentioned as a possible foe, but even that fight is up in the air.
If Khan's removal stands, he would lose his mandatory shot at Garcia. In 2012, Khan was stopped by Garcia in the fourth round of their junior welterweight unification. He's been trying to get the rematch ever since.
The last time Khan saw action was back in May on Cinco De Mayo weekend. He took a big gamble by moving up in weight, from 147 to a catch-weight of 155-pounds, in order to challenge Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez for the WBC middleweight title at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Since the loss to Canelo, Khan has undergone two operations to fix an issue with his right hand. The last operation was a procedure where surgeons removed bone from Khan's hip and transplanted it into his hand. Khan is targeting a ring return early next year.
