Amir Khan Will Keep July 23 Date With or Without Timothy Bradley
by Scott Christ on May 1, 2011 12:58 AM EDT
in Boxing News Analysis
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According to a report from Sport of the World (via BoxingScene.com), Richard Schaefer says that the July 23 HBO date being held is in Amir Khan's control, not Timothy Bradley's. Schaefer expects to name an opponent within the next seven days.
If Bradley turns down the fight as now expected, Khan could be matched with Robert Guerrero, Erik Morales or Zab Judah. By far the least intriguing of those three for me is Morales, who pulled some rabbits out of the hat on April 9 against crude Marcos Maidana, but Khan is not Maidana. With Khan's length and speed, even Morales' recent strong performance shouldn't keep him from being a huge underdog, same as he was thought to be months ago when that idea was first floated as a rumor.
Guerrero and Judah are more intriguing options. Guerrero has said he's willing to jump to 140 or 147 pounds from his current lightweight standing in search of bigger fights. Judah is aged, but his skillset makes him an interesting matchup for Khan, too.
Bradley is looking likely to turn down a $1.3 million payday to face Khan, because HBO has guaranteed him close to that for a return date this summer whether he takes the tough matchup with Khan or not. The fact is you can't really argue with Bradley there. I mean, you can, and you can argue that it sucks for fight fans, because I don't think anyone's itching for any Tim Bradley fight, and at least Bradley-Khan matches the division's top two fighters, who have combined to clear out the rest of the serious contenders over the last two years. I don't think Bradley is really "scared" of Khan or anything like that; it's just not a practical business decision to fight Khan on July 23 unless the money was much better. Bradley-Khan would still be there later in the year if they keep winning. If they don't and Bradley finds himself without another $1 million-plus payday, well, that's the new risk he's taking by not fighting Khan.
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Went with Guerrero. Zab’s past his “sell by date” by a few years. I think Khan cruises past all three of those guys pretty easily.
I’ll be pissed at Bradley for not taking this fight. Dropping out of this fight is a short term perspective. Sure he’ll get his 1.3 mil, but he may never get another shot at Khan. And after that HBO fight, who’s he gonna fight? Bradley’s no welter, he needs to fight Khan, beat him or lose in an exciting, crowd-pleasing fashion, and thereby build his brand. This is a bad move by Bradley, akin to Angulo ducking Martinez – that was a mistake and this is a mistake.
"You can't search me without probable cause Or that proper ammunition they call reasonable suspicion Listen while I bring friction to your whole jurisdiction" - Fugees
Bradley’s not going to do anything in an exciting, crowd-pleasing fashion.
The negotiating tactic here — if it is one — could be getting what HBO promised Angulo, actually — $1.3 mil for Khan, then a new guarantee that he gets a fight after for a good payday. In both cases, Gary Shaw all but begged the fighter to do what HBO was asking, another similarity.
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"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
Agree on Guerrero. Zab struggled with the average Mabuza, and years past his prime (whenever that was).
Don’t count Guerrero out. Khan has never fought a talented southpaw like Guerrero. Actually, I think I’ll take Guerrero. Never been sold on the Khan hype.
Comment of the day!
(whenever that was).
"Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer"
---- Muhammed Ali
The old Zab was sort of my J. R. Ewing of boxing. The new milquetoast Zab is surely a better person to be around but not as much fun. Still, as you say Scott, he presents the better skillset to challenge Khan.
Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"
Let him end it for Zab onec and for all.
"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." - Mike Quarry
Here’s what I like about Khan-Zab. Judah still has some decent speed, more speed than Khan has ever faced as a pro. Judah still has a little pop on his punches. Judah’s a southpaw. And Judah can still pull the trigger. IMO he doesn’t win, but I think it winds up a good fight, AND Zab still has a little star power left (honest to God, I think part of it is his name is so memorable). That star power can rub off if Khan is really impressive, and makes Khan-Bradley an even bigger fight later.
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"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."
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