One of the big open questions around boxing is who will be Floyd Mayweather Jr‘s next opponent. Now, it appears more than ever that the next time we see ‘Money’ Mayweather in the ring, it is likely to be against Britain’s Amir Khan.
Khan’s name has come up around a Mayweather match before, and in fact, a lot of Khan’s inactivity recently has been because he has been holding out for a big fight. Khan, because of his Muslim following and his general popularity due to his Olympic Silver Medal, still commands a big audience despite three losses on his record that have put him firmly back in the pack in terms of rankings.
But money talks, especially with Mayweather, and Khan would bring a vast audience that could help Mayweather buoy the numbers he is always looking for. Oh, and there is one more factor that may be coming into play for Mayweather if he chooses Amir Khan. Khan’s big bugaboo is his chin, and Mayweather has not KO’d anyone since Ricky Hatton in 2007, unless you count his dropping a prone Victor Ortiz as well in 2011. The point is, many boxing insiders will tell you that Mayweather has had a lot of damage to his hands over the year, and that his days of knocking people out are behind him. But there is nothing more electrifying in boxing than a KO and Mayweather could sure use a KO to stop some of the talk that his best days are over.
That is basically what Khan is hoping for, is that he will be lucky enough to be the fighter that catches Mayweather the day he slips up. Khan will be 28 in December, so he will be just entering his prime as a boxer, while Floyd Joy will likely be 38 years old when they meet, so it could happen. Khan is a sharp technical boxer who has improved his defense to protect his hollow jaw, and he is fast and has a lot of physical tools to match Mayweather in terms of height and reach. But at the end of the day, he is going to try to out-technique Mayweather, and that means he is going to have to get lucky and have father time on his side.
Watch Amir Khan versus Breidis Prescott, the first time Amir Khan‘s glass head was discovered…..
