Amir Khan on Judah Fight and Maidana vs Guerrero

Amir Khan faces Zab Judah on July 23, live on HBO from Las Vegas, and the British star feels that the American veteran is a tougher fight than Timothy Bradley would have been:

"Zab Judah is very dangerous, he can punch, and he's quick. I think he's a tougher fight than Bradley. So we want that. We want the fans to see exciting fights and obviously put on good shows. So that's the reason we're taking on Zab Judah, and it's a unification fight so that makes the fight even bigger. ... Bradley is not as awkward is Zab Judah. Zab Judah’s a southpaw and he’s quite awkward that way. I think yeah, in my eyes I think this fight is a tougher fight than Bradley. The Bradley fight was the one that I wanted to have a big unification fight, but he turned it down and then I had to go with this one. Like I said, whoever they put in front of me I’ll fight them and I’ll just win, and hopefully in the future a fight against Bradley can happen."

Many see the 33-year-old Judah as a live underdog in this fight, but I really think that's still old reputation more than anything, because I just can't see it when I watch Judah's trio of "comeback" fights against Jose Armando Santa Cruz, Lucas Matthysse and Kaizer Mabuza. Santa Cruz was out of shape and not very good to begin with, Matthysse nearly knocked him out and many felt was given the short end of the stick on the cards, and Mabuza gave Judah trouble, too, before Judah outclassed an inferior fighter whose entire status was built on beating the world's worst version of Kendall Holt.

In other words, I'm finding it hard to see Judah as a true threat to Khan. Judah's top ten in the division and I think will make it a good fight, but when we talk about who can't handle whose speed in this fight, I think Khan is giving to give Judah more trouble than vice versa. I think the fight is fine, and that the matchup was about as good and marketable as Khan was going to find, but I think Judah has to be considered a real underdog. It has been a long, long time since Judah has convincingly beaten someone regarded this highly at the time of the fight -- maybe since Cory Spinks in 2005.

Actually, that's a good question. If Judah won this fight, would it be a career-best win for him?

Khan also weighs in on the August 27 fight between past rival Marcos Maidana and Robert Guerrero:

"Guerrero has moved up so many weights and I think you had seen in his last fight I think the punching power and everything, he felt that against Michael Katsidis. When he fights Maidana in the 140 pound division I think it’s a different game really, because he’s going to be so strong and powerful. I really think Maidana will walk through Guerrero. It will be a tough fight for both of them, but it will be exciting."

Khan also offers his thoughts on Mayweather vs Ortiz, and gives further thoughts on how he plans to exploit Judah's weaknesses. It's an interesting interview.