By James Slater – Once again WBA light-welterweight champion Amir Khan has been talking about eventually facing the true elites of the sport; namely Floyd Mayweather Junior and Manny Pacquiao. Khan, still only 23, is convinced he will one day climb into the ring with either “Money” or Pac-Man, maybe both. Not only that, but Khan says he is good enough to go in the ring with them now. Khan says he wants to wait until he is at his very best before agreeing to fight either Mayweather or his spar-mate Pac-Man, and he has revealed to The Manchester Evening News how he plans to be moving onto these masters of the sport soon; after two further wins..
Khan faces mandatory challenger Marcos Maidana in December, and the hope is for a victorious Khan to then fight the winner of the still-in-the-works Tim Bradley-Devon Alexander clash. After that, Khan says he will “move on to” Mayweather and Pacquiao!
Khan is also convinced he can give the UK fans some of the old magic Ricky Hatton gave them. It’s well know how thousands upon thousands of British fans travelled with “The Hitman” whenever he fought in the U.S, and Khan says he can attract the type of following Ricky did during his heyday.
“The fans want a new champion – a new guy to follow,” Khan said. “I will take them to Vegas just like he [Hatton] did. And I will prove myself against the elite. That’s where Ricky failed twice. I’m only 23, I’ve got many years left in my career.
“I can take my time and beat these guys like Mayweather and Pacquiao. I could go in the ring with them now – but I want to fight them when I am at my best. I need to beat Maidana first and then the winner of Bradley and Alexander. After that I will move onto Mayweather and Pacquiao. I want to be rated as number-one.”
This is one helluva bold plan for Khan. The thinking big approach is commendable, but Khan has to know that he could well fall at the first hurdle – in the Maidana fight. It seems the formidable hitter from Argentina will be tearing up a whole slew of grand plans if he catches and takes out the Bolton man, the way Colombia’s Breidis Prescott did in 2008.
Khan, though, is confident it will be he who scores the stoppage win on Dec. 11th, and he has told his fans to get ready to see him being the fighter coming forward, being the aggressor. That would likely shock a good number of fans, but even if Khan did manage to defeat the lethal yet crude Argentine, would that convince the experts that Khan would have a good shot at unifying the belts at 140 and then stepping up and defeating legends like Floyd and Manny?
Khan says he has plenty of time on his side, and on this score he is correct. However, the former Olympian did tell BBC radio only yesterday that he will be retired, with his brains intact, by the time he hits 28. That gives Khan five years to achieve all he thinks he is capable of achieving. But even if Khan does clean up the talent-rich light-welterweight division over the next year or so, will Mayweather and Pacquiao still be around, waiting for him at that time?