By Robert Jackson: Witnessing the events that took place on Saturday night past, this writer would have to say that Amir Khan has only two chances to win if he ever faces the man known as Money Mayweather; slim and none.
Taking a page out of the Marcos Maidana handbook, Lamont Peterson turned Saturday night’s match into a brawl and had Khan on his bicycle early in the fight. Having hurt Khan several times throughout the fight all Khan could do was push off with his elbow and forearm, front headlock, and hold the DC native to stop his advance. Khan also was pushing Peterson’s head down when Peterson was on the inside doing his work. It’s true Khan did flurry while retreating but many of his flurries caught arms and shoulders and did not land cleanly. And yes, Khan was the quicker man, but many of his punches were wild ‘keep off me’ punches.
At this point in Khan’s career I would have to say that Khan’s trainer – Freddie Roach has a big reclamation job ahead of him to rebuild Khan’s confidence and fighting technique – which left him on Saturday night. I also don’t see Khan moving up to 147lbs just yet, there are plenty money making/career rebuilding fights for him at 140 including a rematch with Peterson, squaring off against Brandon Rios who’s entering the division and maybe an eventual matchup with Timothy Bradley that seems more likely now after the Peterson fight. Marcos Maidana and Breides Prescott may also have a say in that move, in Maidana’s case he may be at 147lbs waiting when Khan eventually gets there. Roberto Guerrero might also want a piece of the action.
If Mayweather was anywhere near a TV on Saturday past he couldn’t of been too happy because a potential BIG payday went out of the window with Khan’s failure. In any case that fight would’ve been ‘easy work’ for Money whether or not the outcome had been different. As most fight fans know Mayweather is a different kind of animal in the ring, the kind a ‘½ stepping’ fighter my not want to face. What I mean by that statement is the condescending attitude Khan had towards Peterson and his subsequent underestimation and mental lapse in this regard. Even the most focused and prepared fighters have been beaten by Mayweather and this would also be the case with Khan.
If Victor Ortiz does a repeat performance against Andre Berto expect Mayweather/Ortiz II to be made for Cinco De Mayo. I don’t see Pacquiao coming to the table to negotiate with Mayweather for that date. If Berto wins, Floyd could opt to fight him or Sergio Martinez could get the call, with a lot Mexican fighters on the undercard.
As recently as yesterday Khan pushed his schedule back to 2013 for an eventual fight against Money Mayweather and I agree with him, this is a good move. Besides opting to fight Peterson in his home town and then underestimating Petersons resolve which weren’t good decisions, it’s a good thing that Khan will now wait for the Mayweather showdown.