by David P. Greisman - The fight between Amir Khan and Devon Alexander should’ve happened a year ago. It instead happened this past Saturday. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Now, as with last year, he’s angling for a fight with Floyd Mayweather. Now he’s more likely to get it.
It’s still far from guaranteed, wholly at the mercy of Mayweather and his desire for the bout that does the biggest business, though it’s not just whether the fight can make money but also whether it can be, well, made.
It’s still to be determined whether that means Mayweather will have the long-debated and long-negotiated mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao, a rematch with middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, or a showdown against one of many names at 147, coming up from 140, or even in the divisions above welterweight.
It’s still to be seen whether Cotto will sign for a big fight with Canelo Alvarez, presumably staking a claim to the May date that has become the traditional spot for Mayweather’s spring pay-per-views.
The fight between Khan and Devon Alexander didn’t happen a year ago. The negotiations continued on and on until the proposed fight was finally off. Alexander instead defended his welterweight world title against Shawn Porter and lost. (Porter ultimately lost the belt to Kell Brook earlier this year.)
Khan, who was planning a move up from the junior welterweight division, nominated himself as a worthy challenger. He took to the press and social media to lobby for a Mayweather fight and continued to do so as Mayweather conducted an online poll asking fans whom he should face in May 2014: Khan or Marcos Maidana.
Mayweather wound up facing and defeating Maidana twice this year. Khan dominated Luis Collazo on the pay-per-view undercard to Mayweather-Maidana 1. And he scored a wide decision over Alexander this past Saturday, bolstering his case for facing Floyd.
“I really believe I earned my shot against the best fighter in the world, which is Floyd Mayweather,” Khan was quoted as saying afterward. “I believe he'll have problems with my speed, movement and accuracy. I'm going to leave it to my team, and let's hope we get that fight.” [Click Here To Read More]
It’s still far from guaranteed, wholly at the mercy of Mayweather and his desire for the bout that does the biggest business, though it’s not just whether the fight can make money but also whether it can be, well, made.
It’s still to be determined whether that means Mayweather will have the long-debated and long-negotiated mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao, a rematch with middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, or a showdown against one of many names at 147, coming up from 140, or even in the divisions above welterweight.
It’s still to be seen whether Cotto will sign for a big fight with Canelo Alvarez, presumably staking a claim to the May date that has become the traditional spot for Mayweather’s spring pay-per-views.
The fight between Khan and Devon Alexander didn’t happen a year ago. The negotiations continued on and on until the proposed fight was finally off. Alexander instead defended his welterweight world title against Shawn Porter and lost. (Porter ultimately lost the belt to Kell Brook earlier this year.)
Khan, who was planning a move up from the junior welterweight division, nominated himself as a worthy challenger. He took to the press and social media to lobby for a Mayweather fight and continued to do so as Mayweather conducted an online poll asking fans whom he should face in May 2014: Khan or Marcos Maidana.
Mayweather wound up facing and defeating Maidana twice this year. Khan dominated Luis Collazo on the pay-per-view undercard to Mayweather-Maidana 1. And he scored a wide decision over Alexander this past Saturday, bolstering his case for facing Floyd.
“I really believe I earned my shot against the best fighter in the world, which is Floyd Mayweather,” Khan was quoted as saying afterward. “I believe he'll have problems with my speed, movement and accuracy. I'm going to leave it to my team, and let's hope we get that fight.” [Click Here To Read More]
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