Many fight fans rolled their eyes when Amir Khan was rumored to be Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s next opponent. After easily defeating Canelo Alvarez, who seemed to be the strongest possible opponent on the landscape for Floyd, Khan appears to be a fish out of water in this class of fighter.
The knocks against Khan are frightening. He has a suspect chin, exposed by elite fighters like Danny Garcia, as well as journeymen such as Julio Diaz. He has also only fought once above 140 lbs., while Mayweather regularly fights as high as 154 lbs. Still, Khan believes styles make fights, and told SI.com that his style makes him Floyd's perfect foil.
"Canelo had the wrong game plan. He fought the wrong fight. When you are slower than someone physically and your feet are not quick enough, and you are standing in front of someone who is a good mover and has fast reactions, you are made for him. I'm the total opposite of Canelo, Victor Ortiz or [Robert Guerrero]. What I bring is something he hasn't faced in a long time. It will be a skills match. It will be a boxing match."
Khan brushed off his knockout loss to Garcia as a valid reason for Garcia to earn a shot instead of him. "Well who else out there can give Floyd problems? No one," Khan said. "Danny Garcia? Floyd has fought many opponents like him. I have a style that has given him problems before. I'm an orthodox fighter who is quicker than him and faster than him. And if Floyd wants to be a global superstar, he has to fight me. It will make him popular in the UK and the Asia area."
That last point is the biggest reason Floyd is eyeing Khan. Mayweather's pay-per-view vs. Robert Guerrero was a failure by Mayweather's standards, while the Alvarez card set records. The quality of opposition Alvarez posed drew fans; in the absence of such quality, The Money Team is likely targeting opponents with giant fan bases.
Khan also doesn't believe his lack of experience in higher weight classes will affect him, since he has outgrown the 140-lb. division anyway.
"Making 143 was tough. Physically I'm growing. I'm 26, turning 27 [on December 8th], I should have moved up a long time ago," Khan said. "Killing yourself makes you a weaker fighter. That's what I was doing my last few fights to try and make weight. I was in the same position when I was at 135. When I moved to 140 I fought Marcos Maidana and Zab Judah, I walked right through them, no problem. I think it will be the same at 147."
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