Golden Boy promotions have been at the negotiating table again, this time putting off Amir Khan’s mandatory WBA title defense against Marcos Maidana. Their stance is that for someone as promising as Khan, Maidana is a big risk for little reward at the moment.
Outside boxing circles Maidana isn’t well known enough to make a fight against Khan very lucrative for either party right now. Golden Boy will no doubt be hoping that they can build him up on the under card of Khan’s next fight and perhaps put together a fight between the pair later on in the year.
The naysayers and critics will be quick to jump all over this and claim that Khan and his questionable chin are being protected again, but I see this more as a result of Khan being adamant that he wanted to keep his title.
Early on after the WBA ordered Khan to make the defense or give up the belt, it was looking likely that he would release the title and go after bigger fights before moving towards one of the other champions.
It now looks like Golden Boy will try to placate both fighters by offering Maidana a spot on Khan’s under card with a guaranteed fight sometime later on
There is also the ever present rumor that Khan will eventually move up in weight in a few fights time, which may or may not be well founded. Khan’s trainer Freddie Roach has said that Khan is filling out quickly and that he will probably end up in one of the middle divisions eventually.
It might be the case than Khan will stay at light welter until his friend and training partner Manny Pacquiao has retired, given that the pair don’t intend to ever fight each other.
Similarly if Khan intends to follow in Pacquiao’s footsteps, he will need to knock off the other champions at light welterweight before he moves up in seach of bigger fights and opponents.
The main concern about Maidana as an opponent seems to be be twofold for Khans handlers. Firstly he’s a sufficiently dangerous puncher to potentially cause Khan problems if he can catch him regularly. Secondly like Khan, Maidana is somewhat untested at a world level, and its difficult to ascertain just how good he is at this stage.
From the fighters perspectives, the fight is worth the risk for at least one of them, with the winner being instantly catapulted somewhere near the top of the world rankings.
Either way, Khan and Maidana will meet sooner or later, and Golden Boy can only hold off the inevitable for probably one more fight.
