Earlier this month The Daily Mail broke news of Amir Khan pulling out of his fight with Devon Alexander on December 7th to square off with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 3rd. Details have been murky until this point though, and Khan representatives are denying knowledge of this arrangement.
Robert Diaz, Golden Boy Promotions' chief matchmaker, was caught off guard by the report. "I got a couple of emails on Wednesday and I said: 'What is this?' I have no knowledge of this, I haven't heard anything about this, I don't know where it is coming from. Really, I can't believe it. That subject hasn't even been brought up."
Last week Khan's reps also released a strongly worded statement declaring their intent to face Alexander.
"Team Khan would like to dispel recent reports that Amir Khan has pulled out of a potential match-up against Devon Alexander on December 7th, taking up a fight against Floyd Mayweather in May of next year instead. Amir is currently in training camp in San Francisco with the aim of fighting again in December against Alexander once an agreement can be reached."
Still, many are suspicious. Khan has barked for over a year about wanting to fight Floyd, Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza has publicly pined for the match to happen, and negotiations with Alexander have yet to be finalized.
Diaz shrugged off the snag with Alexander, though. "These things are never done overnight. There's always back-and-forths, language changes. It could be something as little as fight tickets. That's why we haven't announced, but we are announcing soon."
Amid all this fuss may be something more telling than the executives and their official statements. Khan's trainer Virgil Hunter has openly said he doesn't believe his fighter is prepared for the best pound-for-pound pugilist in the world.
Hunter said that Mayweather "processes things quicker," indicating his belief that Khan's handspeed would be neutralized by Floyd as easily as Canelo Alvarez's power was.
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
