Photo by Marilyn Paulino/RBRBoxing
Amir Khan is still baffled as to why he cannot grab a big-time fight. Floyd Mayweather spurned him. He led him along and then went a different direction. Khan complained, which only made Mayweather happier, so much so that he dangled his farewell fight in front of him like cookies in front of a toddler.
Then he squirted right in Khan’s eye by fighting Andre Berto, the one guy with even fewer credentials than Khan. It was sad, but kind of hilarious, to see Khan get worked over yet again.
Finally, Khan went after his one-time sparring partner Manny Pacquiao. Surely, the great and powerful Pac Man would give him his obviously well-deserved shot? Of course not. Manny fought Floyd. Even Khan, despite doing the impossible and defeating Devon Alexander, could probably see why Pacquiao went that route instead of right after him.
But surely, obviously, OF COURSE he would go right to Khan for his comeback-farewell-but-probably-not fight???
WHO ELSE COULD HE POSSIBLY BATTLE?
Left. At. The. Alter. Again.
That no good Ducky McDuckerton Manny Pacquiao avoided Khan like the plague, and instead went back to a familiar foe, Tim Bradley. Pacquiao blamed “middle men” for the fight not getting made. Who the hell knows what he meant, since he often appears confused and because “middle men” could refer to anyone who isn’t Pacquiao or Khan.
Still, Khan got left out, his head exploded, and he went into a deep yawning chasm of depression. Maybe. But now he’s finally broken his silence on the matter, and no truer words have ever been spoken about anything ever. Finally, the truth is out there.
We can now see clearly that Khan has once again been yanked and avoided because he is a terrifying beast man. He is Chocolatito, Triple G and Negan from The Walking Dead rolled into one horrifying package.
I’ll be honest–I’m not thrilled in the slightest about Pacquiao vs. Bradley 3. It’s a superfluous, unexciting fight that reeks of a cash-grab for Pacquiao before sailing off. Yeah, maybe Bradley has improved under new trainer Teddy Atlas. Yeah, Pacquiao has lost a few steps. The fight will likely be closer this time. Maybe Bradley will even win it.
But I’d still be more intrigued by a Pacquiao vs. Khan fight, just like a Mayweather vs. Khan fight would have been intriguing. Whatever. Either way, Khan’s opinion of himself is absurdly out of touch with reality, which is why he is always so incredulous about getting left out of these bouts. Nobody has the heart to tell him the truth–they don’t need him.
He’s not a bad fighter. In fact, he’s fun to watch. He’s got nasty hand speed, good pop and he comes to fight. He makes for entertaining battles. However, this is a guy who was still trying to live down getting absolutely starched by Breidis Prescott when he was corkscrewed into the canvas by Danny Garcia. That was before he entered the Welterweight division.
Since then, he’s scored wins over guys like Alexander, Luis Collazo, Julio Diaz, Carlos Molina and most recently, Chris Algieri. Those fighters aren’t awful. But eeking out a win over Algieri, a guy that Pacquiao thrashed all over the ring, doesn’t put you on par with the top dogs. Unfortunately, that’s exactly where Khan believes he should be.
Khan just wants the big fights. Of course he does. Who doesn’t? If you polled 100 NFL players and asked them what game they’d like to play in, it wouldn’t be the third goddamn preseason game, it would be the Super Bowl. Thing is, teams earn their way into that game by beating out all of the other teams. Khan hasn’t earned anything.
I know, Algieri didn’t earn the Pacquiao fight, and Berto sure as shit didn’t earn the Mayweather fight. But they also didn’t act like self-entitled morons, either. Here’s a thought–maybe instead of chasing the biggest fighters in the world, guys who are in such a great position that they could fight a lawn chair (Berto) and still get paid an ass load of money, Khan should bite down and get himself in on some Keith Thurman action, or Shawn Porter, or perhaps even his countryman–Kell Brook?
Problem is, if these claims are any indication, Khan won’t be getting that fight anytime soon, either. I mean, if you already think of yourself as one of the kings, you might as well get paid like one too, right Amir?
Somebody needs to sit this guy down and tell him that it might be best for him to pipe down and get busy in the ring. He’s fought four times in three years. None of those performances were particularly awe-inspiring. It’s long past due for him to let his fists do the work for him. If he’s as good as he thinks he is, that shouldn’t be a problem. Maybe his chin issues are a thing of the past.
Maybe he can make good on all that silver-medal promise. Sometimes, good things happen when you bash your way to the top instead of waiting for somebody to bring you there. Sometimes, you end up showing everybody that you belong.
If a fighter gets carried up, it’s bound to be a short stay. Earn it. Or at the very least, shut the fuck up about not getting what you want.
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