Onus On Amir Khan To Secure Opponent And Save Date

By Jake Donovan

If we only knew then what we know now.

That has to be going through the minds of the folks who make the decisions at Sky Sports.

One decision they made was to not make available an April date for the possibility of a much-sought after heavyweight collision between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye.

Part of their reasoning was the date itself – April 30, which follows the April 29 royal wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Their main concern, however, was running two boxing pay-per-view events in the same month, much less in the span of two weeks.

With Amir Khan penciled in for the April 16 date, the heavyweights were told to pick another date.

For the moment, there is no other date because there is nothing but a trail of disappointment in regards to the chances of Klitschko and Haye ever squaring off in the ring.

For the moment, there is also no firm answer to the ongoing question of who will be standing in the corner opposite Khan on April 16.

Several fighters have pleaded their case – some through the media, others in direct conversation with Team Khan. Still, the search continues as the 2004 Olympic Silver medalist is forced to move beyond his original list of candidates.

Current junior welterweight contender Lamont Peterson is reportedly out of the running, having rejected two separate purse offers from Team Khan. The most recent offer was for $200,000, which – while a generous payday for most – wasn’t considered enticing enough to convince Team Peterson to travel abroad.

Joining the American challenger on the list of those now out of the running is Paul McCloskey, who at one point was considered the front runner to land the assignment.

The undefeated Irishman announced on Thursday that talks were dead and that they would eye a title eliminator later this spring after rejecting a similarly offered purse.

A fresh batch of potential opponents are being sought by Team Khan, with talks of undefeated countryman John Murray once again surfacing towards the top of the list.

The goal appears to be to spend as little as possible on any opponent that will be approved by HBO for the April 16 homecoming at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England.

Travel expenses obviously wouldn’t come into play for Murray, a born and bred Mancunian. What is of concern to the general public, however, is the fact that he’s a modest hitting lightweight coming up in weight, although he is riding a current six-fight knockout streak.

The question remains whether or not he’s willing to accept the asking price, which for the moment doesn’t appear to be going up.

That could very well change as the deadline draws nearer, as it’s unlikely that neither HBO nor Sky Sports will be too thrilled with carrying the billing of Khan versus TBA for very long.

One of the few opponents who seems more focused on landing the assignment and less concerned than others about the payday that comes with it is a familiar name to Khan and his countryman – Breidis Prescott, the only man to date to hang a loss on the Brit.

Prescott has spent virtually all of 2011 reminding the world of his one-minute blitzing of Khan back in September 2008, in fact in the very arena that will play host to the April 16 fight.

Several in the media have taken up Prescott’s cause, looking past the fact that the Colombian hasn’t done very much since that night. Back-to-back losses to Miguel Vazquez and Kevin Mitchell went a long way in maxing out the credit limit granted to Prescott after scoring what will likely go down as the biggest win of his career when all is said and done.

Meanwhile, Khan has brilliantly recovered. The Brit has won six straight. Included among the lot is a title win over Andriy Kotelnik and surviving a major gut check in his 12-round war with hard-hitting Marcos Maidana last December.

Both bouts have helped confirm Khan’s credentials as high among the best 140 lb. fighters in the world today, so much that many are calling for the winner of Saturday’s showdown between Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander to have to go through him in order to claim divisional supremacy.

Khan has expressed in interest in such a fight, which is why his team has placed a modest budget for his next assignment.

The problem is that anyone regarded as a potential candidate has caught wind of how much is in the pot, and of the belief that the assignment warrants a lot more than the current price listing.  

Given the brutal nature of his most recent fight, most seem to be forgiving of the fact that Khan’s handlers are seeking a perceived soft touch for his next fight.

What won’t be forgiven is if their refusal to budge at the negotiating table results in a fight that leaves a lot to be desired and fans longing for a lot more – such as the one heavyweight championship fight for which fans have clamored, but were told they couldn’t have at the time it was being offered.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com and an award-winning member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .