Amir Khan: Floyd Mayweather cherry picks opponents

Amir Khan was once all but locked in as the May 3 opponent for Floyd Mayweather, but after Marcos Maidana's upset win over Adrien Broner on December 14, plus the public's lukewarm (at best) reaction to the idea of a Mayweather-Khan fight, we're now in a position, as I'm sure you've read a million times by now, where there are two men vying for the fight.

Khan or Maidana? Maidana or Khan? Khan says that if Floyd picks Maidana, he's cherry picking an opponent to make himself look good.

"People say I have no chance and I don't deserve to be in the ring with Floyd," Khan told The National. "Why not?"

Well... no, let's just move on.

"If you look at his last three or four fights ... all of them are slow, with no footwork, one-dimensional fighters," said Khan, 27. "He cherry-picks them, to make himself look good."

He said the speed of his feet, hands and mind would cause Mayweather severe trouble. "I'm fast. I'm quick," Khan said. "I have an awkward footwork. Styles make fights, and I will show him style."

"I have an awkward footwork." - Amir Khan, 2014

I said this yesterday, but I'll say it in condensed form again: Khan simply Khan't (ha!!!!!) complain if he Khan't (ha!!!!) get this fight. When he avoided fighting Devon Alexander to try and save his remaining purity for the money date with Floyd, he basically forfeited the right to be taken seriously with these complaints. When Mayweather says that Khan only wants the fight for the payday, how is it hard to argue? Khan saw Devon Alexander as too big a risk to preserve the fight he felt was going to be given to him. He didn't "earn" it even in normal, warped boxing terms. It was just that he was the "best available option."

Well, Maidana made for another available option, one that made everyone take a second look at Floyd's May 3 fight. It's about what sells better, what sells easier, and which of these two frankly mediocre fights is the easier pill to swallow. And the fact is, one of them beat Adrien Broner in a big fight in December. And one of them scraped past Julio Diaz last April.

And the thing is, I agree with Khan. Stylistically, I think he's a tougher matchup. I've seen Floyd smack around plodding guys with slow hands a million times now. Maidana is Carlos Baldomir with power, and it's not like power was going to make the difference for Mayweather-Baldomir. I like the idea of the speed-versus-speed matchup. I'd like to see where Mayweather's reflexes are against someone with Amir's hand speed. All I'm saying is that Amir Khan is, to me, the best of two lousy options. I don't really have a strong belief that Khan is the better of the two options, it's just down to personal preference.

Join us later today or maybe tomorrow for another repeat of this same damn story. Just sign the fight, Floyd. Whatever it is. Sign to fight Shawn Porter. I don't care.