Amir Khan Tries to Sweeten the Pot for Timothy Bradley Fight

by Scott Christ on May 19, 2011 10:54 PM EDT in Boxing News Analysis

Amir Khan is trying to coax Timothy Bradley into a July 23 fight. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

According to ESPN.com's Dan Rafael, Amir Khan has authorized Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions to make Timothy Bradley a sweet new offer to get a fight done on July 23.

Rafael reports that Khan wants to offer Bradley a 50-50 split of the pay-per-view revenue in the United Kingdom. That is a very bold move by Khan, and indicates one of two things:

Khan really, really wants this fight, or
Khan knows that the fight isn't going to happen, so he can grandstand like this.

I tend to be an open-minded dude and all, but there are a lot of layers to this whole situation. Gary Shaw says they upped the Khan fight offer to Timothy Bradley to a "minimum of $1.4 million against an 80-20 split of their side's take," with Bradley keeping the lion's share for himself.

But strangely, it seems like the least-talked about thing in this whole ordeal is what I'm assuming is the real reason this fight isn't happening on July 23. By all accounts, Timothy Bradley's contract with Gary Shaw expires on June 30. That's a big deal. Why would he risk devaluing himself against the toughest 140-pound test out there for him by accepting a fight on July 23 when his deal is up on June 30 and he's going to probably be looking to listen to offers elsewhere, or at the very least renegotiate a better deal with Shaw? I really, really believe that this has to be the biggest issue for Team Bradley, and not the fact that HBO offered him good money for any fight they approve, or some fear of Amir Khan.

Still, the UK PPV offer from Khan is pretty big. In the previous offer, Bradley would have gotten 0% of the UK PPV, and 50% is, like, way more than that. I'd say this makes the chances of seeing Khan vs Bradley on July 23 better than they were when the fight was considered dead last week, but I still wouldn't hold my breath. If it doesn't happen, it appears the two front-runners to face Khan on July 23 are Robert Guerrero and Zab Judah, with Guerrero seeming to have the lead in that race so far.

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i get what bradley is doing here

win or lose he devalues himself to potential suitors after this fight because this is probably the biggest money fight out there for him (besides a floyd or manny fight… obviously)

"After this, I'm gonna kick Bob Arum's ass."
-George Lopez

by Eddie Gonzalez on May 19, 2011 11:13 PM EDT reply actions

I don't understand.

His deal is up June 30th and the fight would be July 23. Why not how would he be devaluing himself win or lose when he will more then likely have his new deal in place the first week of July.

Why doesn’t Kahn just sign to fight someone like Kotelnik or Mabuza with a clause that he can fight Bradley if it is signed by the first week of July. Then offer Bradley this deal July 1st. And the winner fights the guy originally signed. Problem solved.

by TXroyal on May 19, 2011 11:49 PM EDT reply actions

He’s not going to sign a fight of this magnitude on a few weeks’ notice and he can’t negotiate legally with other firms (Top Rank, Golden Boy, whoever) until the current deal is expired. If he’s looking to leave Shaw for another promoter, he has to wait until July to even speak with them, and then he has to negotiate. And he’s going to get offers from just about everyone, probably, so he’ll have to find the best deal for him, which means hearing offers from everybody and weighing them, then negotiating them.

Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."

by Scott Christ on May 19, 2011 11:55 PM EDT up reply actions

bradley will lose value as soon as he fights khan

cuz then there will be no other big money fights out there for him, meaning less money for a promoter to be made off of him. at least no fights as big as this khan one will be. so he wants to wait and get more to sign and more interest. his value is as high as its gonna be right now. its a savvy business decision by him

"After this, I'm gonna kick Bob Arum's ass."
-George Lopez

by Eddie Gonzalez on May 20, 2011 12:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Why would he risk devaluing himself against the toughest 140-pound test out there for him by accepting a fight on July 23 when his deal is up on June 30 and he’s going to probably be looking to listen to offers elsewhere, or at the very least renegotiate a better deal with Shaw?

Especially when he’s already the clear front runner to get Pacquiao in 2012, which will always be more lucrative than any deal Khan could propose. Why bother boosting your credibility when you can just be handsomely rewarded for becoming a free agent? That philosophy certainly worked for Mosley and Marquez.

by bachwards on May 20, 2011 12:42 AM EDT reply actions

I wouldn't think that Bradley is the clear front runner to fight Pac Next

If you look in Pac’s history, there is only 3 types of fighters that gave him problems. Marquez, Morales, and Agapito Sanchez. I think Bradley is the new Sanchez, a busy, durable, foul machine that could make Pac look bad.

by Sean Mills on May 20, 2011 2:52 AM EDT reply actions