Khan, really?
Back in March CEO of Goldenboy Promotions Richard Schaefer mentioned that he would like to match the winner of the Danny Garcia vs Zab Judah and Lucas Matthysse vs Lamont Peterson winner against one another then the winner of that would possibly get the chance to face off against Amir Khan.
Well in the past 3 weeks, both Garcia and Khan won their respective bouts, one far more convincing that the other. While the thought of a Garcia vs Matthysse would be one to talk about, a possible bout with Khan and any of the four, not so much. While I applaud Khan’s willingness to fight the best in his division, he is damaged goods.
He went the distance with Julio Diaz who was TKO’d by Kendall Holt who was stopped by Lamont Peterson in his last outing. Why does this matter? For one, Khan struggled more than he should have with a fighter who is well past his prime and not only did Khan struggle he got dropped once again. While many will argue that Khan is exciting because while he has a great set of boxing skills he also lacks a chin which makes for made for TV moments. However, if Khan is the gold pot at the end of the rainbow it is not because he is the best fighter out of the bunch but he is the fighter that would be able to give out the highest payday.
Also, if Peterson should happen to win this weekend then a presumptive Peterson v Garcia would be the next fight which in turn would create a rematch for Khan with either of the men he has already lost to. So what would be the upside other than money? Perhaps an opportunity for Khan to fight either of the men in his backyard. Khan has tried his hand at the American audience fighting 6 of his last 8 fights in the states with moderate live gate success.
Will Khan be the man waiting at the end of the year for the mini Goldenboy tourney winner they have going on right now remains to be seen, rumors are that Khan might be next in line to face Floyd Mayweather… Only time will tell.
Uphill battle.
Sometimes in boxing, some fighters seem to have an easier path to titles than those who may not have a fathers name or “potential” star status. In boxing, surprisingly some fighters have to actually fight the best or fighters that are viewed better than them in order to even be considered for a title shot.
While fighters such as Julio Caesar Chavez Jr, Adrien Broner and even Canelo Alvarez have been given an express lane pass to titles, fighters such as Lucas Matthysse seem to have a rougher road to the title belts than the names mentioned. While Matthysse fight resume is filled with names many fight fans are not aware of, Matthysse feels like a fighter who is constantly having to prove himself against the competition. One reason this may be is because of his highly questionable losses to both Zab Judah and Devon Alexander. Add a cancellation against Erik Morales because of an injury and Matthysse has seen his stock rise and fall faster than a lot of fighters in his division. It also may be the fact that he is one of the hardest punchers in the 140lb division that have many of his opponents looking to bypass Matthysse completely because he is a high risk low reward type of fighter. Yet, many believe he may be the best 140lb in the division, a division that also includes Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado.
This Saturday night Matthysse has a chance to prove his fight right by beating the slick Lamont Peterson in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It’s a fight that has FOY candidate written all over it.
GTFOH
Adrien Broner may like to call himself AB “about billions” and he probably has a billion reasons why he chose to bypass the 140lb all together and it’s a safe bet that the fighters mentioned above are a pretty good reason. There is no doubt Broner is good boxer but to act as he does and make the claims about being the “can” man and anyone “can” get it is simply not true. He looked silly when Robert Guerrero stepped up to him at a weigh in last year and he looks as if he is running scared by bypassing the 140lb weight class.
Simply put, there are too many good fighters in the 140lb division and Broner wanted no part of that. Instead he will let Garcia, Matthysse, Rios, Alvarado and Khan beat each other up and then MAYBE he will fight one of them. And please do not try and say that the Broner-Malignaggi fight is a toss up. It’s not, plain and simple. Yes, Paulie is a good fighter and has a far better chin that many expected but regardless of Broner being the “smaller” man, Broner is still the faster fighter. Does anyone recall Paulie’s comments after his loss to Khan? He basically admitted Khan was the faster fighter. Well, Broner is probably just as fast as Khan if not faster, add that Paulie is no threat to knockout Broner and this looks more of a payday for Paulie than an actual fight he has a remote chance of winning.
Oh, the press conference trash talk and twitter wars makes this fight a must see?
Yeah, sure why not. Paulie is not one to be at a loss for words but words do little once he is in the ring. Broner along with Goldenboy will make his win over Malignaggi more than it is, they will pat themselves on the back for jumping up two weight classes to face Paulie, convince the fans that Paulie was a worthy and tough opponent (which he is) but he just simply is not on the same level as Broner is at this point of his career. However until the fight happens, fight fans should sit back and enjoy the verbal jabs both fighters will throw at one another, chances are it will be more entertaining then the actual fight.
Summertime.
With Cinco De Mayo fight weekend being the unofficial-official start of summer (for me) the next few weeks of boxing should be good. Peterson-Matthysse and Froch-Kessler and both solid match ups that are worth watching.
And then…
I am not one to get personal but I would like to take a moment of silence.
R.I.P. Cade Perdue.
I never met the young boy or even knew him, he was a classmate of a friend of mine and I came across the unfortunate news of his passing through my friend. (Read more)
No one should have to bury their child but sadly it happens and all we can do is pray and hope that the family will find peace in times like this. Donating a dollar or a toy to a local children’s hospital may seem like a task for us at times but those gifts may be able to brighten a young child’s day or week. I am not asking for anyone to donate to this one particular foundation but donate to anything you feel strongly about. Cancer, diabetes, mental health issues , food shelters, and so much more. Help out any way you can.