When Amir Khan?s homecoming and subsequent three-fight deal with Matchroom was announced, fans were wondering who would be in the opposite corner in his first fight back ? scheduled for April 21. There were plenty of options and names being bandied about and eventually it was announced that Canadian Phil Lo Greco had got the gig. Promoter Frank Warren recently revealed to BoxNation that he had reached out to Matchroom and offered up the name of one his fighters for the gig.
Penge welter Bradley Skeete was the man put forward. Aged 30 and boasting a 27-1 record (12 knockouts), the last time Skeete crossed the divide and wound up on a Sky Sports undercard he was busy dishing out a schooling on Eddie Hearn?s Commonwealth welterweight champion Sam Eggington. So while ?swerve? might be a little strong, given Khan?s propensity for a challenge across his career (see Canelo, Maidana etc), I have no doubt that the Bolton man fancied a slightly easier, less mobile operator. Lo Greco will for the most part present a static target for Khan to find quickly and hurt as much as possible. Skeete would have the potential to make a returning Khan look bad, seeing as Bradley is able to box nicely and move around the ring with fluidity and purpose.
Skeete?s career is in danger of atrophying slightly if he does not get a move on. I?m all in favour of a young fighter learning his trade, solidifying himself at British title level and winning the Lonsdale Belt outright, but at some point Bradley needs to move on. I?m sure he has lofty ambitions and his team are working diligently behind the scenes to secure him a matchup on the next level, but his most recent opponent named for the since-cancelled February 10 ?Untouchables? card (lowly Hungarian Laszlo Toth) was wholly uninspiring.
