by James Slater: Reigning WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan has said he wants to give his fans in the U.K a big fight to end the year. Not having boxed since he made his U.S debut by beating former champ Paulie Malignaggi in May, Khan told BBC radio he is “pushing for the M.E.N Arena in Manchester” for his next fight, to go ahead in December.
When asked who he was hoping to face in 2010’s final month, the 23-year-old said there are three names he is looking at: Juan Manuel Marquez, Marcos Maidana and Victor Ortiz.
Either one of these three big names would almost certainly provide Khan with a big ticket-selling rival, and it’s likely the M.E.N Arena would sell out if the popular star fought one of these guys – Marquez especially. Khan, 23-1(17) has spoken a lot of wanting to get it on with the Mexican – who proved on July 31st that he has a lot left to offer at the elite level, by again beaten Juan Diaz to retain his lightweight titles – and if that fight did go ahead in England (which, to my mind, is unlikely, as that fight has Las Vegas written all over it) Khan’s popularity over here would increase to an even higher level.
But will Marquez, who also proved he is still a big pay-per-view attraction (the Diaz return drew approx two hundred thousand buys in the U.S), take a fight with Khan? There are plenty of other, perhaps bigger and more lucrative options out there for “Dinamita.”
If the Mexican marvel did say no to Khan, that would leave interim WBA champ Maidana, and the once-beaten “Vicious” Victor. Fans everywhere have been calling for Khan to face the lethal-punching Argentine for quite a while now, and the Bolton man would receive a ton of praise if he agreed to face his mandatory challenger in December. As for Ortiz, he is the least-known of the three names Khan mentioned, and in his biggest fight to date he lost (quit?) against Maidana. And though a fight with Ortiz would be an interesting fight for Khan, it is the least appealing of the three possibilities.
Another problem with Maidana and Ortiz, is the fact that both guys have big fights already scheduled; Ortiz faces Vivian Harris on the September 18th Mosley-Mora card, and Maidana faces DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley in his homeland at the end of this month. Would either guy be ready to fight again as soon as December?
Khan also spoke, briefly, about a fight with fellow Brit and “good friend” Ricky Hatton. Not sure whether or not Ricky is “still retired,” Khan said such a fight could possibly still happen one day, and that it would be a fight the fans “would love.”
In the meantime, though, the still-to-reach-his-peak WBA boss has those three names in his sights. Which one will Khan face to cap off what has been a very good year for him?