By Lem Satterfield
According to Amir Khan's business manager, Asif Vali, the WBA junior welterweight champion is open to fighting every major player, at 140-pounds, on his expected return date of December 11.
Khan is being positioned to fight the winner of the rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz, scheduled for July 31 in Las Vegas. Khan will attend the event at the Mandalay Bay to watch the fight from ringside.
HBO is very interested in a match between Khan and Marquez. If Diaz wins, a fight with Khan will be a tougher sell, especially with Khan's recent domination of Paulie Malignaggi, who in turn dominated Diaz in their December rematch.
If, for whatever reason, the Marquez-Diaz winner falls through, Vali said Khan might also consider unified WBC/IBF belt holder Devon Alexander (20-0, 13 KOs), WBO champ Tim Bradley (25-0, 11 KOs), WBA interim champion Marcos Rene Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs) and, Victor Ortiz (27-2-1, 21 KOs).
Between all of the candidates, Khan and his trainer, Freddie Roach, have been pushing for a fight with Maidana.
Bradley and Alexander have upcoming fights ahead of them. Bradley meets Carlos Abregu on July 17, and Alexander faces Andriy Kotelnik on August 7. As we previously reported, a date of January 29 has been discussed, between HBO and promoters Gary Shaw and Don King, for a Bradley-Alexander unification.
Ortiz has been mentioned for the Shane Mosley-Sergio Mora pay-per-view undercard on September 18 at Staples Center. Former champion Vivian Harris has been mentioned as a possible opponent. Maidana, fighting with his management team, is without a scheduled fight.
"They're all in the mix. Maidana's in the mix if he's injury-free. Alexander's in the mix. Bradley's in the mix. They're all in the mix. It just depends on who is fighting who. Whatever Golden Boy and Freddie Roach put forward is what Amir Khan wants," said Vali.
"Amir Khan will fight anybody. We're not ducking anybody. We want all of the big names. We just want to move forward with whomever is available as long as the money's right."
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
