Timothy Bradley calls out “Alexander the Great,” “Con-man” Khan
Despite any claims by Amir Khan, he is not the man to beat at the junior welterweight division. He is a man to beat in the division, and good one at that. But ‘the man to beat’ is a title reserved to WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley. The proof is all in the stats. According to boxrec.com, Bradley is rated number one in the junior welterweight division out of 1390 active fighters, and number one out of 230 active American fighters. Not to mention being the top guy in the Ring Magazine’s junior welterweight ratings. Anywhere you look around Bradley, you'll see a number one.
Bradley recently spoke up about a potential bout with Devon Alexander, and that led him into discussions about Khan. Both camps have been touting the fight (Bradley—Alexander) since Alexander won a controversial decision over Andriy Kotelnik earlier this month. Bradley said that he definitely wants the fight, as it will assure (if it still needs to be assured) that he is the best in the world in his division. After the bout he wants Amir Khan, Ring Magazine's number two junior welterweight.
Bradley said: “After I beat Devon, he’ll [Khan] have nowhere to hide. We’ll have to fight, to see who is the best – the fight will have to happen. He can say what he wants, he and Freddie Roach [Khan’s trainer], but right now he’s looking to face old guys who are 36, 37 [Khan is looking to fight Juan Manuel Marquez rather than someone from his own weight class]. Khan can’t say he’s the best. I think Devon is better than he is. Until Khan steps up to the plate, he can say what he wants, but until he does that I think he’s a chicken [expletive],” Bradley stated.
Whatever Bradley says, it’s likely that he’ll face some serious waiting time it looks more and more likely Marquez and Khan will square off first. Not just that, there’s a host of other fighters Khan could potentially take on, such as Kaiser Mabuza, Victor Ortiz, and Zab Judah. among others. It’s also possible that the WBA orders Khan, the WBA junior welterweight titlist, to take on Marcos Maidana (interim WBA champ) to determine the unified WBA. But that’s anyone’s guess at this point. What does look clear is that Khan is going to try to sap a bit more time out of the night, taking on guys he can probably beat with his eyes closed and avoiding any real competition.
Bradley also wants Judah
Besides being interested in Khan and Alexander, Bradley also expressed interest in taking on the once-great Zab Judah. Judah recently returned to the ring, and has a second tune-up fight scheduled. Bradley said: “Zab knows my number. He can get it too. He looked good in his last fight, which was against a guy who was okay, but he won’t be able to do that against a real fighter. But he can bring it; he can come see me.”
A Judah—Bradley fight would likely be an appealing prospect, as it’s questionable if Bradley has ever fought someone of Judah’s calibre. This is a guy who’s taken on everything the division’s thrown at him, including Floyd Mayweather Jr. Judah would probably be even more difficult to defeat than Alexander, should he be able to rally back and motivate himself properly. Alexander proved against Kotelnik he is still young and susceptible to the veteran wisdom of the game. But Judah himself is part of that wisdom, pretty or not. Judah is still lightning quick, and perhaps his biggest asset is his tenacity to do what he has to do to win (including being a dirty fighter, if necessary). Whatever fights finally get going, the junior welterweight division is one of the most explosive today.
And say what you want about Bradley, but it doesn't seem like the man lacks the drive to fight.
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