Here is Why Amir Khan July Fight in UK Got Cancelled
It seemed like a formality that Amir Khan would be fighting in the UK at the end of July, with a July 31 date in London appeared to be the most likely alternative. The only question to be answered appeared to be who Khan’s opponent would be. Several names had been thrown out as possible opponents, such as Michael Katsidis and Marcos Maidana. But in recent days, it appeared that former super featherweight and lightweight champion Joel Casamayor was the leading candidate to claim the spot as the challenger for Khan’s WBA junior welterweight title.
While speculation swirled about who the challenger would be for Khan’s title, it appeared that there was little doubt that a fight would take place. It appeared that Golden Boy Promotions was adamant that Khan have a “homecoming” bout in the UK in the summer before – presuming a victory – having a major PPV bout in the United States before the end of the year. But now it looks like Khan will have to wait before getting a chance to step back into the ring, as Golden Boy chief Richard Schaefer said earlier this week that Khan’s bout on July 31 in the UK is off and that “King Khan” won’t be fighting again until a date in America in November.
The number one reason for postponing the fight, Schaefer said, it because of the potential for conflicts with other popular sporting events, particularly the World Cup. With England expected to make a deep run into the tournament, Schaefer said that Khan’s fight could easily be overshadowed. While Khan is the most popular fighter in Britain, the World Cup is still the most popular sporting event in England (and the world). Even though the World Cup is scheduled to end on July 11, Schaefer clearly felt that the final matches and the post-World Cup excitement could serve as a distraction. Another issue mentioned by Schaefer for postponing the fight is that the end of July is peak summer holiday season in the UK.
However, both of these excuses seem to be rather suspect. The final match of the World Cup is almost three weeks before Khan’s fight was scheduled – it’s difficult to imagine that a 20-day gap wouldn’t be sufficient time to promote a bout to boxing fans within the UK. And while it is true that the end of July is a prime time for Brits to travel on vacation, this shouldn’t be enough to force postponement of a fight. (This is along with the fact that both events were already in place before the initial date for Khan’s fight was announced.)
The real reason that Golden Boy Promotions has pulled Khan out of the July 31 date appears to be the lack of a quality opponent. Casamayor is 38 and it’s likely that his best days as a boxer are behind him. At the least, he isn’t the type of opponent who is going to contribute to interest in the fight – especially from casual fans. In order to capitalize on the momentum from Khan’s win over Paulie Malignaggi in New York on May 16, his promoters needed another “drawing card” fighter to help sell tickets and PPV buys. Schaefer even admitted that a “poor pay-per-view” could have happened and would have been detrimental to Khan’s career.
The postponement means that Khan likely won’t fight until November at the earliest. Khan is a devout Muslim, and he wanted to fight before the holy month of Ramadan started in August. Because Ramadan involves fasting, Khan will need several months to get back into shape for a major fight.
Tags: