His pending marriage may cause female fans to lose some of their obvious appreciation for his glamour boy looks but it’s increasingly clear that the “sell” on junior welterweight champ Amir Khan is that he’s the successor to the most popular fighter throne long occupied by his own promoter, Oscar de la Hoya. Considering that Khan is pitched as the “new Golden Boy” it is fitting that he cast his promotional fate with GBP. And the parallels between fighter and promoter don’t stop with being roughly handsome guys who make some ladies swoon. In the ring, Khan has been delivering strong performances and, when his ring history is concluded, we might decide that–avert your eyes, fans of unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr.–it was a his quickie KO loss to Breidis Prescott that truly turned Khan from wide-eyed prospect into an enduring world champion. Of course, I ruminate on Khan–past, present and future–on the eve of his Saturday night, HBO and British TV showcase in Washington, DC, against as really worthy challenger named Lamont Peterson. Daily Mail sports pundit and longtime pal Jeff Powell checked in Friday by phone from the Peterson-Khan weigh in to inform that the once-beaten Freddie Roach protege hit the scales at 139 while the local lad was at the divison limit of 140 pounds. Powell, who has chronicled Khan dating back to his Olympic glory, believes the Bolton Wanderer (one of my so rare soccer references, eh wot?) will do the job as the Brits like to say.
