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With up and down negotiations now finding the two sides on firm ground where they won't budge, it looks now like the proposed July 23 fight between Amir Khan and Zab Judah probably isn't going to happen, and that Robert Guerrero is back in the lead to face Khan on the date.
Kathy Duva spoke with Lem Satterfield, and I do recommend reading the interview, but here's the breakdown:
What Judah/Main Events Want
- 50-50 split, but it appears he'd settle for 45-55
- The fight in Atlantic City
What Khan/Golden Boy Demand
- 60-40
- The fight in Las Vegas
Duva feels that the fight will draw better in Atlantic City, and says that Caesars is ready to make a good offer. She's probably right -- Schaefer is trying to say that Khan vs Maidana outdrew Judah vs Matthysse last year, and that Khan's good crowd at the MEN Arena against Paul McCloskey in April matters.
Now, it's true that Khan and Judah have recently done very different numbers on HBO, but the TV audience is not the debate here. Judah vs Matthysse was a short-notice fight, relatively, and did 766,000 viewers on HBO. Khan vs Maidana did about 1.17 million. It's a big difference, no arguing that.
But Khan vs Maidana was a flop in Vegas. The number of tickets "sold" was 3,195, and they had a big giveaway to get people in there (it wasn't selling at all), so a lot of that was comped. Khan has not sold a fight in the States yet.
To be honest, I do think 60-40 is fair, especially if Judah is convinced he's such a great matchup for Khan. A win and he's REALLY back in the game, and would be lining himself up for some money fights. But the fight should also be in Jersey, not Vegas. To me, that seems fair. Judah can't do better than a Khan fight right now, and probably would prefer to be back on HBO instead of on Integrated Sports PPV again. The Khan fight represents a chance for Judah to get back on top. Nothing else that could be available really does.
If Guerrero gets the fight, obviously it's Golden Boy's win because they keep all the money, as they control both fighters. Guerrero (29-1-1, 18 KO) has been all but begging for a major fight, even telling GBP he'd be ready to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr if the opportunity arose. Khan is a next step up in weight for him, as he chases big money fights at age 28. It was the fight I expected would happen once the Tim Bradley fight was clearly off, and it doesn't surprise me that even after a serious flirtation with Judah, it looks like we're back to Guerrero.