As glad as I was to see boxing rev back up again this past weekend after its annual holiday slumber, the thing that caught my eye the most wasn't a fight on ESPN2 or Fox Sports Net but the official announcement of Amir Khan signing with Golden Boy Promotions.
My early take on it is that it's a great move for Khan. Love it or hate it, Golden Boy is still one of (if not the) driving forces in the sport. Khan is already a big deal in his native United Kingdom, but aligning himself with Oscar De La Hoya and company makes big money fights in the United States that much easier to make.
And let's be honest: Khan has serious superstar potential, combining excitement in the ring with natural charisma. Trying to figure out or create boxing's Next Big Thing is a path fraught with peril (see: Victor Ortiz, Alfredo Angulo, etc.), but Khan has a good a chance to be that guy as anyone.
As mentioned by Dan Rafael in the ESPN piece, Golden Boy is almost synonymous (rightly or wrongly) with HBO. Why wouldn't you want to get in good with the industry leaders if you were serious about making a splash in the U.S.?
I'd be remiss if I didn't discuss the other side, which is that the deal is as much a coup for Golden Boy as it is for Khan. Everyone knows the company's most marketable fighters are either retired or headed that way soon, and it needs to take any promising chance it can to replenish that talent pool.
From a fan's perspective, it's too bad this may scuttle a potential fight with Marcos Maidana, who won me over when he beat Ortiz last June. That being said, if Khan ends up fighting Paulie Malignaggi instead, that's trading a good fight for one that should be even better.
With Freddie Roach in his corner and Golden Boy behind him, Khan has every advantage a young titleholder could want. If he can't conquer America now, it's going to be all on him.
Posted by The Franchise
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3 comments:
Haven't seen Khan fight much, but I wonder if Paulie might be too much for him. Paulie is a tough out for anyone.
However, Roach is behind the fight, so it makes me think that he sees something in Khan, and believes he will beat Paulie.
I think Khan is Malignaggi's equal in speed and has superior power (no shock there!). Of course there's more to boxing than just those two things, and Paulie is super crafty with much more top level experience. Plus he's coming off one of his most impressive performances to date in my opinion.
Roach may or may not be the deciding factor. Either way, I think it's a nice fight and hope it gets made.
oh no doubt it's an interesting fight. And worthy of TV for sure.
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