By Rick Reeno
In this day and age, a high stakes fight is not easy to make. The proposed junior welterweight fight between WBA champion Amir Khan and challenger Juan Manuel Marquez is no exception. Both boxers are promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, who are working very hard with HBO to finalize the bout for May 15 in Las Vegas.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer confirmed to BoxingScene.com that Khan has accepted the fight. Marquez is another story. There are some issues on the Marquez side. Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya has become personally involved in the situation.
Over the weekend, Marquez's longtime manager/trainer Nacho Beristain told Mexican reporters that his fighter should not accept the offer to fight Amir Khan because it's wrong fight for this time period. Beristain also believes his fighter is being "exploited" and used as a "stepping stone" for Khan's American debut.
"They want to match him with Khan, but I told him that's not a fight to take lightly. Khan is very strong and it's not a good fight for Marquez right now because he's not fully recovered from the Mayweather fight, which was just brutal. I think it's better to get another opponent. He should not be exploited again. Juan Manuel deserves to retire like a true champion and not as someone's stepping stone," Beristain said to La Jornada reporter Jorge Sepúlveda Marín.
Schaefer admits the fight is not a simple one to make but Golden Boy is trying to do everything they can. Fights like this are not easily made, says Schaefer. They take a lot of time, and a lot of negotiating, and a lot of effort. Marquez has the opportunity to accomplish something that his countrymen, Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, failed to do. He has a chance to become the first Mexican fighter to win a fourth divisional title. Marquez won major titles at featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight.
"I can report that Amir Khan has accepted the challenge. Oscar is talking to Marquez. When you put these big matchups together, it's not just a matter of - 'ok great, where do we sign?' - there is a lot of negotiating and there is a lot of back and forth. I really don't have anything positive [to report about the negotiations], but I don't have anything negative to report either. Marquez understands this is a fight where he can make a good purse and the same is true for Amir Khan, so we are trying to put this fight together," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.
"I actually believe that from all of the HBO fights that we've done live, I have to say that [Khan-Marquez] is one of the fights that I get the most questions about and fight fans seem to be really excited about that This is a pick-em fight. This is a dangerous fight for either guy. For Marquez, it gives him the opportunity to become the first Mexican to win a title in a fourth weight class. And for Amir Khan of course it gives him the opportunity to have that big fight in the United States. That's why it makes it such an interesting fight."
Schaefer doesn't see the fight falling apart because one of the fighters believes he is not getting the proper respect. Both fighters bring a lot to the table and because of that they are both being treated with a lot of respect in the negotiations, says Schaefer.
"I think what you need to see is who brings what to the table. Juan Manuel Marquez in my opinion, and still in the opinion of many, is the best Mexican fighter currently active, as we call him 'El Numero Uno.' He brings the Mexican fans and his whole legacy to the table. The guy is a legend and he has to be treated and respected as such. And then you have Amir Khan who is the world champion at 140-pounds and they would be fighting for the world title, so he brings the belt with him. This fight is not going to [fall apart] because somebody feels not properly treated," Schaefer said.
"We have done big fights before where both fighters were promoted by Golden Boy and we never had an issue with that. We're working on it and it makes a lot of sense. The one thing we try to do at Golden Boy is get the best and biggest fights done. We don't need to do tuneups. We don't need to do that at this point. Neither one of these guys are tuneup fighters. They want to have real challenges."
There is also the subject of Khan fighting his mandatory, interim-champion Marcos Maidana. As previously reported on BoxingScene, Maidana is fighting unbeaten Victor Cayo on March 27. The fight with Cayo is part of an agreement that Maidana reached with Golden Boy to postpone his mandatory bout with Khan for at least two to three fights. Some insiders believe the "postponement deal" is a scheme by HBO and Golden Boy to protect Khan from Maidana. Not so says Schaefer.
According to Schaefer, the fight will happen down the road but right now the fight between Khan and Marquez makes more business sense. He wants the Khan-Maidana fight to be properly built up to the point where it means something to general public.
"Amir Khan against Maidana. Let that fight mature. For us, the boxing insiders, we would probably get exciting about that fight but you are not going to have the sports world or the general public talking about it like the Khan-Marquez fight. That's the kind of fight people want to see and that's the kind of fight we want to make," Schaefer said.
