WBA and IBF light welterweight champion Amir Khan is a fighter with a clear plan of where he sees his career going.
Firstly he intends to defend his belts at 140lbs later this year, then move up to welterweight early next year and barring any setbacks in presumably an easy debut, take on pay per view star Floyd Mayweather before the end of 2012.
The only undecided factor at this stage is who Khan will fight later this year before leaving the 140lb division. Currently the winner of the upcoming bout between Marcos Maidana and Robert Guerrero has been mentioned as a strong possibility, as has Erik Morales.
The fight that many still feel he should take before exiting the division however is a unification with WBC/WBC champ Tim Bradley, who for the time being is sidelined with lawsuits from his former promoters.
The messages coming from Khan at the moment on the subject of Bradley however are rather mixed.
In one interview he says Bradley has had his chance and won’t be offered the same terms as before, which in itself is hardly likely to tempt Bradley into accepting the fight.
In another, he will criticize Bradley for not agreeing to fight him the first time the fight was offered, and claim that the Palm Springs native is scared of him.
Bradley meanwhile doesn’t seem particularly interested in the fight either, saying in a recent interview with RingTV:
“The timing is not right right now. I don’t feel that we would generate what I feel that we both deserve and what the promoters deserve.”
The strange part about this statement is the fact that despite having an excellent record, there isn’t any sign that Bradley is going to get any bigger in terms of drawing power.
He’s been the best fighter at light welterweight for several years now and even a bout with then number two ranked Devon Alexander failed to generate much interest.
Khan has selling power with fans in the U.K, Middle East and growing interest from Americans. Bradley is unknown outside of boxing circles and isn’t a particularly big draw even in his home town.
It seems that while Khan has a clear plan of what he wants to do and where he wants to go, Bradley’s career now hinges on who he signs a promotional deal with after his current litigation with Gary Shaw Productions and Thompson Boxing are finished.
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Top Rank seem to be the front runners to eventually sign Bradley, with Bob Arum previously having voiced interest in the 27 year old.
Whether that means Bradley would get a shot at Manny Pacquiao as he assumes is another matter.
Pacquiao himself has yet to voice any interest in fighting Bradley or in fact to even mention him as a potential opponent for the future.
Also from a business standpoint having a main attraction like Pacquiao fight a dangerous and relatively unheard of fighter like Bradley seems to make little sense.
While Amir Khan is fighting the likes of Floyd Mayweather then, Bradley may find himself with the same problems under a new promoter.
Theo Marsailles, Pitt: “Khan is getting bigger while Bradley isn’t doing anything, I can’t see him getting to fight Pacquiao either”
