Of the four pro defeats Amir Khan has suffered – to Breidis Prescott, Lamont Peterson, Danny Garcia and Canelo Alvarez – it is the third defeat he picked up, at the hands of Garcia, that always bothered him the most. It was six years ago today when it happened: Khan, looking in control early against an unbeaten Garcia in a 140 pound clash, before being smashed to stunning fourth-round defeat.
All these years later and both men are still active, as welterweights – Khan one win into his latest comeback, Garcia set to face Shawn Porter for the vacant WBC title in September 8 (the same night Khan will face Samuel Vargas in his second fight back) The loss to Garcia is today the only defeat Khan has any chance of getting a shot at avenging.
Prescott is all done and even though he is still fighting, a Khan win would prove practically nothing now. The same could also be said of Peterson; and there seems to be almost zero chance of Khan again facing the man who so controversially outpointed him anyway. And as for a Canelo-Khan II – well, forget it!
But Khan still craves a shot at revenge against Garcia, and the rematch would still have some appeal if it were to happen this year or next. Of course both men have to win their upcoming fights, and then there would have to be an enticing offer put forth to Garcia to face Khan again. Also, the winner of Garcia-Porter is, in theory, set to face a returning Keith Thurman in defence of the WBC belt – but will Thurman actually return? If not, who knows, maybe we could, quite surprisingly, get to see Garcia-Khan II. And it would be an interesting fight.
“The fight between me and Garcia always hurts me. I know I could’ve won that fight,” Khan told The Mirror a while ago when looking back on the 2012 stoppage loss. “I was beating him and schooling him, until I got hit with a big shot. It was all one-sided, but then I made one mistake and got caught.”
Khan was indeed ahead before Garcia’s big left hand ruined him, the stoppage coming in the 4th-round. Could Khan, all these years later, box a smart fight and get revenge if he were actually given the chance, or would his oft-ridiculed chin let him down once again?
Silly as it may sound, a Garcia rematch just might be the best chance Khan has of winning anything approaching a mega-fight at this late stage in his thrilling, up and down career. If Garcia beats Porter and then Thurman fails to return any time soon, just maybe these two fighters will indeed meet again.
Khan still maintains he and Garcia have “Unfinished Business.” It would be a shame if Khan never even tried to avenge a single one of his pro defeats.
