Canelo vs Khan: PBC spokesman says Al Haymon was involved in negotiations

For those wondering what role, if any, Al Haymon played in the negotiations to make a fight between his fighter, Amir Khan, and Golden Boy's Canelo Alvarez, PBC spokesman Tim Smith is hoping to clear some of that up, with a statement made to RingTV.com that echoed what he'd told others beforehand.

Smith says that Haymon was involved in the negotiations, though he did not speak with Golden Boy directly, instead getting information from Amir Khan's team and going from there. Oscar De La Hoya told Lance Pugmire of the LA Times that he did not have direct contact with Haymon. This makes sense, as De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions is currently suing Haymon for a lot of money.

Here's what Smith told The RING:

"This was one of the best opportunities available for Amir and Al helped him to land the fight. That's why the management structure was constructed so that fighters wouldn't be deprived of these opportunities. Al has been criticized for keeping guys out of long term promotional agreements but look at what happened in this particular case. It allowed Amir to have the freedom to make the best possible fight for himself."

Obviously, this is a biased account of what Al Haymon's guidance gives to a fighter's career, but if this is how things played out, and Khan is still with Haymon and Haymon did advise his team while letting this fight get put together, that would, indeed, say quite a lot about Haymon's practices, to allow him to fight not just on a rival promoter's card, but to fight on the card of a company that is suing him for $300 million.

But who knows what else might be said between now and, like, later today? Or tomorrow? Or in a week?