Former two-weight world champion Ricky Hatton believes Amir Khan has the speed and ring skills to defeat Floyd Mayweather and should pursue the mega-fight with the aim of becoming the first man to beat the American should he emerge victorious from his rematch against Marcos Maidana on Saturday night.
“Amir Khan deserves his shot,” Hatton told Telegraph Sport. “Amir is right at the top of the list as well. He’s a big name and has been a world champion several times over. He moved up a weight and silenced the critics who said he might not have the chin to compete at welterweight. Nobody deserves it more than Amir. He’s taken a lot of slating over the years.”
Hatton believes Khan’s speed would create issues for the undefeated American, regarded as the leading pound-for-pound boxer on the planet. “If Maidana can push Mayweather that close, Khan most definitely has a chance.”
What impressed Hatton was Khan’s last performance against the dangerous Luis Collazo. “If he puts on a disciplined performance like he did with Collazo, he’s got a shot. I knew that if he wanted to have a fight with Collazo he’d get beat. But if he used his boxing and his speed, he’d win every round. And that’s what he did.
“I thought it was a wonderful performance. He passed that test with flying colours. There’s now every chance he could fight Mayweather. Floyd has beaten everybody out there. He’s at a stage now where he might be running out of quality opponents.
“What he showed against Collazo was that he now has the discipline. Amir used to do well in the first few rounds and then all of a sudden he’d go into the trenches and that’s when he’d get in trouble. I think he’s matured now and there’s every chance he could get Mayweather at the right time. Style-wise, he’s probably the only person in the world who can match Mayweather for speed.”
Khan may, of course, get side-tracked with the prospect of fighting fellow Briton Kell Brook, who won the IBF welterweight crown just under a month ago.
“It depends what money is on the table,” reasoned Hatton. “I became the best in my weight division and then I wanted to become the best in boxing. It didn’t come off for me. But you want to test yourself against the best in the world and Floyd Mayweather is the best in the world. I know Amir Khan wants to test himself against the best. He’s never shied away from a challenge.
“My guess is if he had a choice he’d much rather fight Mayweather than Brook and you can’t blame him.
“A fight with Kell Brook would be massive Box Office. It could do everything and more what Carl Froch and George Groves did at Wembley Stadium. It’s a good time to be Amir Khan. There are lots of options there for him.”
Hatton, who lost by ninth-round KO to Mayweather in a fight which captured public imagination seven years ago, added: “Floyd Mayweather is a champion in every sense of the word. He looks after himself and he looks after his body. He’s a real athlete. He takes pride in the fact he’s unbeaten and the No 1 pound-for-pound. When you set your sights as high as Floyd, nothing but excellence is going to do.
“Me and Floyd were very, very different – I wasn’t as talented as Floyd. But I still believed that nothing but my best would do. Maidana wants the rematch because he pushed Floyd so close – and Maidana deserves the rematch – but I don’t think anybody would’ve wanted it more than Floyd.”
Mayweather, meanwhile, here in Las Vegas, has rounded on his detractors, and says he will look to gain a decisive knockout in Saturday’s contest at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“The first fight was very interesting. Hopefully this time around the fight is even more exciting.
“Maidana is always in top shape. He absolutely deserves this rematch. I commend him for stepping up and making it happen again. I’m a true champion and a true champion never backs down.
“I need a knockout and I’m going for it. I need it to make a statement. First for myself, I want to do it for me.”
Maidana, meanwhile, claims he will pace himself in the re-match, having been outboxed in the second half of the previous fight.
“I think I did get tired in the first fight. I have to pace myself a little better and this time around I will be better.
“I think Floyd got pressured by the press and I think that he knows the first fight was close so he’s giving me the rematch and I have to take full advantage.
“I think Floyd is going to run but I’m going to have to do a good job of cutting off the ring. If the knockout comes, great, but I’m ready to go the distance as well. I’m ready to make history.”
