IN May of last year Amir Khan lay stretched on the canvas, eerily motionless after a full-bodied right cross from Canelo Alvarez connected with his chin. The shot condemned Khan to a knockout defeat in the sixth round. Amir has not fought since.
Ricky Hatton can empathise with his predicament. “From being a British boxing fight fan and being Amir’s mate, I got knocked out horrendously by Manny Pacquiao, but Amir’s had three of them. [Breidis] Prescott, [Danny] Garcia and Canelo and there’s only so many knockouts of that manner you can come back from. You know what I mean? He’s had a fair few fights, he’s had the war with [Marcos] Maidana. Those heavy defeats, I wonder how much it’s took out of Amir,” Hatton told Boxing News.
Khan and Pacquiao announced they’d agreed terms to fight but no deal has been confirmed. “It’s a shame really. Amir’s probably only got a few more fights and then he’ll probably get out of the game to be honest with you. I think Manny the same. I think Manny isn’t the force he was. He’s still got enough force to still be a contender at the weight, obviously, that goes without saying,” Hatton said. “It’s a shame it didn’t happen against Pacquiao, because it’s two big names and it would have been a big fight.”
Hatton’s advice therefore would be for Amir still to seek out the Kell Brook fight. “The next biggest fight out there and the biggest fight financially is when you have a domestic rival. Benn-Eubank showed that, Froch-Groves had 80,000 at Wembley. If he can’t get Mayweather and he can’t get Pacquiao, that’s the one,” Ricky said.
