By Keith Idec
Amir Khan asked the WBC during its convention Wednesday in Hollywood, Florida, for additional time to contemplate whether he wants to remain its mandatory challenger in the welterweight division.
If Khan decides he wants to maintain that status, he would, as the WBC’s No. 1-ranked 147-pound contender, be in line to fight in the winner of the March 4 bout between WBC world welterweight champion Danny Garcia and WBA world welterweight champ Keith Thurman.
Philadelphia’s Garcia (32-0, 18 KOs) won the then-unclaimed WBC world welterweight title on January 23, when he soundly defeated Robert Guerrero (33-5-1, 18 KOs, 2 NC), of Gilroy, California, in their 12-rounder at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The 30-year-old Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) hasn’t fought since Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) knocked him out in the sixth round of their WBC middleweight title fight May 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. England’s Khan is trying to land what would be a lucrative fight against IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (36-1, 25 KOs), an all-British battle that could be among the things that lead Khan away from the Garcia-Thurman winner.
Garcia stopped Khan in the fourth round of their WBA/WBC super lightweight title unification fight in July 2012 in Las Vegas.
If Khan relinquishes his mandatory position, the WBC has asked that promoter Top Rank Inc. determine if its No. 2-ranked welterweight contender, former two-division champion Timothy Bradley, would be interested in participating in an elimination match against the WBC’s highest available contender to determine its new No. 1 contender for the Garcia-Thurman winner.
Carl Moretti, Top Rank’s vice president of boxing operations, told WBC officials he will inform them within a week if Bradley (33-2-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC) would be interested in such a fight.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
