Khan leaves Warren, signs for GBP and gives up world title

T-K-O

This news hasn't hit the press yet, but it will be in tomorrow's Independent on Sunday. TKO aint one bit surprised. A ducking of the highest order.

mink_man

hes just given his title up? why?
thats a shock!

f1dan

mink_man wrote: »

hes just given his title up? why?
thats a shock!

So he doesn't have to fight Maidana.

Bodhisopha

So a Freddie Roach fighter has signed for GBP given everything that has gone on over the last month or so?

I dunno, man.

mink_man

why would it only be in the independant also?

54kroc

Why give up the title though?

Bodhisopha

Give up the title to avoid his mandatory.

54kroc

I would have thought that Top Rank would have had some interest in him.

Vintagekits

Steve Kim from Max Boxing who is close to GLP put it on his twitter.

joepenguin

Roach seemed to like the idea of sticking him in with Erik Morales. Wonder if it will come off? He will likely fight a "name" fighter.
Now that he has left Warren thats one less barrier to a Kahn-Hatton fight.

magma69

How does this lad expect to win over fans by ducking fighters. I suspected this would happen. I don't think Roach has as much faith in Khan as he lets on.

joepenguin

magma69 wrote: »

How does this lad expect to win over fans by ducking fighters.

By giving them the "I gave up the title to take on a bigger challenge" line. Interested to see what comes of this.

magma69

joepenguin wrote: »

By giving them the "I gave up the title to take on a bigger challenge" line. Interested to see what comes of this.

That ain't gonna fool many. I find it insulting and making a mockery of the sport to step down from the position that he claims to have been striving to achieve all his life.

Vintagekits

joepenguin wrote: »

By giving them the "I gave up the title to take on a bigger challenge" line. Interested to see what comes of this.

(just emailed ya that photo with the Lonsdale)

Vintagekits

AMIR Khan is splitting with top British promoter Frank Warren as he aims to become a mega-star in America.

The Bolton light-welterweight will make his US debut against Paulie Malignaggi at Madison Square Garden on May 1.

And Khan, who has been guided by Warren since he won silver at the 2004 Olympics, will sign for American promoters Golden Boy, the Daily Star Sunday can reveal.

To ensure he fi ghts Malignaggi next in New York, he is expected give up the WBA world title that he won last year by out-pointing Ukrainian Andreas Kotelnik.

Khan, 23, blasted away Yank Dmitriy Salita in 76 seconds in the fi rst defence of his WBA title in Newcastle last month – but fans will have to travel Stateside see him fight next.

The WBA governing body ordered Khan to face mandatory challenger Marcos Maidana next – but the Briton’s American trainer Freddie Roach has never been keen on facing the Argentine dangerman.

Instead, Khan has opted to fight Malignaggi, 29, who was stopped in the 11th round by Manchester’s Ricky Hatton in November 2008.

But the New Yorker has rebuilt his career since losing to The Hitman and out-pointed Juan Diaz last month.

Khan, who trains in Los Angeles with Roach, has been desperate to fight in America and will now start working with Golden Boy, the company of ex-world champ Oscar De La Hoya.

Khan will be expected to box less in Britain and more in the States. It means Khan will not be promoted by Warren for the fi rst time as a professional after 23 paid bouts. Khan follows Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton by quitting Warren as a world champ.

Warren was unavailable for comment yesterday. Khan said earlier this month: “I believe I could outbox Paulie Malignaggi. When I am in England everyone knows my name. That’s what I want in America. I want to be like Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.”

Fighting Malignaggi means Khan will follow a few British boxers who have topped the bill in their first fight in America, such as ex-world leatherweight king Naseem Hamed.

‘Magic Man’ Malignaggi sees similarities between Hamed’s US debut and himself fighting Khan. Malignaggi said: “We talk about Amir like he will be England’s next superstar, like Ricky Hatton or Naseem Hamed.

“The first live fight I saw was Hamed against Kevin Kelley and I was hooked.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/inthering/view/117595/Amir-Khan-dumps-Frank-Warren/

magma69

Think Khan will win that one fairly comfortably tbh. I reckon both Khan and Roach know if Khan was to fight Maidana he would end up kissing the canvas. Feather fisted Malignaggi is a million times safer fight. Boo Khan :mad:. This also means Malignaggi is out of the equation for PBF's next opponent.

MCMT

No surprise he left Warren, imo. He's been sending smoke signals out for a while. Even comments Warren made in recent weeks hinted Khan was off.

No surprise too he'll dodge Maidana. Far too risky. Maidana would be gunning for him from the opening bell - trashing Khan would be huge for him.

But Malignaggi is a great alternative. He's looked excellent this year. Could be a nice technical, tactical 12 rounds. Right now, it's a toss up for me. It'll certainly give Malignaggi a chance to solidify his claim that he could match Pacquiao re speed.

If Khan comes through Mal I'm certain we'll see Khan-Hatton at the end of the year. Probably at a catch weight.

I can't say I'm a Khan fan (and nor am I taken by his 'down-to-earth' personality; the lad's a jock plain and simple) but I think he's being managed beautifully. No need to construct him a chin - just let him skip on his fleetfeet to the low risk, big pay gigs.

Big Ears

This is nothing like Hamed facing Kevin Kelley.
Kelley although considered faded at the time(which in retrospect looks a little silly), was on a winning streak against good opposition and was a very respected puncher.

One of the main reasons it was seen as a dangerous fight for Hamed was because of Kelley's power. Malignaggi may be slick and a decent quality opponent but he offers very little risk. He's a complete non puncher and if you were to pick an opponent of top(ish) quality for Khan to face with as little danger as possible he'd be the man.

I actually fancied Khan to beat Maidana, but there was still a real element of danger to that fight and it seems they've run a mile from it. Congratulations to new WBA Light-Welterweight champion Marcus Maidana anyway.
I really hope he gets a big fight now and doesn't have to contend with trying to retain his World title in Germany against Kotelnik.

I'm guessing the fighters Khan's team will be looking for after this will be Ricky Hatton or Juan Manuel Marquez. Or maybe Nate Campbell if he continues to look badly faded.

redzerdrog

he has no chin and as soon as he comes up against anyone that will hit him he will be found outm let him make his money while he can

Bodhisopha

I'd fancy Khan to win comfortably enough but can't stop myself throwing a sneaky tenner on the Mosquito to knock him out.

richierichballs

Khan is ducking Maidana, He would of got Sparked out him,
Which is bad news, If you wanna be a world champion you have to defend it,
Not wimp out after 2nd defence,
I cant stand Amir Khan!
Good move going to Golden Boy though

mark renton

I dont mind a boxer making a few quid as its one of the toughest sports known and not a lot of boxers make a very good living but saying below, now cmon Amir

"I'm ready to fight anyone, anywhere, anytime and know Golden Boy will help me accomplish these goals," said Khan.

richierichballs

john47832 wrote: »

I dont mind a boxer making a few quid as its one of the toughest sports known and not a lot of boxers make a very good living but saying below, now cmon Amir

"I'm ready to fight anyone, anywhere, anytime and know Golden Boy will help me accomplish these goals," said Khan.

Its bull**** man, He talks way too much and got a title far too early,
He knew he was going to have to take on Maidana at some stage and this makes him look terrible for giving up the title, there is no excuses unless he moves upto 147

joepenguin

richierichballs wrote: »

this makes him look terrible for giving up the title, there is no excuses unless he moves upto 147

I heard Mayweather is looking for an opponent lol. GBP hardly signed him to be a lamb to the slaughter so highly unlikely. He could proabably see himself on the undercard of a Mayweather-Pac card not too far down the line. 147 would be a bit much for him now anyway. Mallignaggi would be a good fight.

richierichballs

joepenguin wrote: »

I heard Mayweather is looking for an opponent lol. GBP hardly signed him to be a lamb to the slaughter so highly unlikely. He could proabably see himself on the undercard of a Mayweather-Pac card not too far down the line. 147 would be a bit much for him now anyway. Mallignaggi would be a good fight.

He will prob end up fighting Floyd somewhere down the line in the UK, in a megafight, the brits idolize him, just another Hypejob imo.
Great footwork, Speed and Strength but he is just way too Chinny

Dr. Greenthumb

Another blow for boxing in my opinion. A boxer gives up his title to avoid a fight, there should be some sort of penalty imposed for this crap.

Roach must have accepted the fact that Kahn does indeed have glass jaw. I was a bit sceptical about everyone shouting that at the start as anyone can get caught out especially considering how offensive a fighter Kahn is but if Roach is pulling him out of the fight what other reason could there be?

Maglinaggi is a very safe fight for Kahn i think and suit him down to the ground. Kahn can go in strong and fire off big punches while not worrying about the big counter landing.

I did like him and think he was a very promising fighter but now I've lost all respect. I mean giving up a title ffs!

joepenguin

Mayweather-Kahn would be huge if Khan raises his profile stateside to maximise it. He'll probably never get the Pacqiaou fight since he trains with him but pacs previous opponents would suit him down to the ground as Roach knows them inside out and they are at the tail end of their career.
Barerra already happened.
Morales
Marquez
Hatton
Floyd 2011?

Purse bids for Kahn-Maidana are set for tommorrow in Panama. http://www.frankwarren.tv/index.php/latest-news/091009/253-purse-bids-for-khan.html

T-K-O

Walsh, what do you think of your hero ducking an able opponent ?

walshb

T-K-O wrote: »

Walsh, what do you think of your hero ducking an able opponent ?

Pure versatile....

Not only is Khan a fantastic boxer, he is also very shrewd. He'll
go far!

Your hero Dunne should take a leaf out of his book, if he did, maybe
he'd be still "world champion."

T-K-O

Firsty he's not my hero, why do you have to bring him up in every thread, is it because of that time he beat you up ?

And if Dunne did that the last thing you would call him is versatile.

He'll go far alright with one hell of a padded cv.

walshb

T-K-O wrote: »

Firsty he's not my hero, why do you have to bring him up in every thread, is it because of that time he beat you up ?
.

Eh, you brought in "hero" talk, I just reciprocated. Obvioulsy you are a wee bit touchy, so we'll call a truce on this one...jeez, sorrrry.

T-K-O

You're blessed the Mosley fight is of, in fact so is Berto

richierichballs

Just seen this:

By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com was advised that today's WBA mandated purse bid for a junior welterweight title fight between full champion Amir Khan and interim-champion Marcos Maidana was canceled. From what I was told, there was an agreement reached. Details of the agreement are unknown at the moment but there are two stories going around. According to one story, Maidana will allow Khan to take an interim-fight before they meet, and the other story has Khan-Maidana going forward on April 17 in Las Vegas.
Khan recently signed a promotional deal with Golden Boy Promotions, who also co-promote Maidana with Universum.

alanceltic

I was wondering when someone was going to rattle walshb's cage on this one lol. Its amazing the way some people are so forgiving of cowardly actions because they have a horn for someone.

I dont believe khan is a bad person but I do now firmly believe that he doesnt have the guts to take a real fight, his own people dont even like him & I can only imagine the stick he will get from this. If there is one good thing to come from this it may be a match up with an ageing Hatton and if hatton still has the fire in his belly he will eat him alive.

And for the record im pretty sure that most boxers would rather face a mandatory (even the 50:50 fights) than take the cowardly way out, lets face it he took a dive, theres a lot more to be said for someone who meets the challange head on rather than waiting for hand picked opponents at every turn. make no doubts khan has been protected very well but at some point you need to front up and shi_te like this will just turn even more people against him..... not really surprised hes turned his back on boxing in the UK as people know he is all hype and no substance.

walshb

alan, steady on. Khan already met one mandatory and destroyed him.
If by the mid to late part of 2010 and he hasn't met quality, by all means criticise, but he more than likely will meet a top rated fighter, or Marcos in the next 8-10 months. see post #23

As for horns, keep that stuff between yourself and Bernard; not really appropriate here

Johner

Khan wants to become a well known name in the US, fair play to him for moving to Golden Boy.

walshb

Really this is not all that surprising. You could tell after Khan beat Salita that he wanted one direction and Frank wanted another. This was evident at the ringside interview.

Anyway, what's the hullabaloo about. The guy is 23, and he still may meet
Marcus during this year.

I reckon if he does meet and beat Maidana, which I expect, the excuses and hurdles will still pop up.

I will be the first to diss him if he goes thru this year without meeting a top rated fighter.

walshb

So, it seems that Khan will get his chance to prove if he has
what it takes to go further. Patience is a virtue!

by James Slater - It seems as though WBA light-welterweight ruler Amir Khan will not be giving up his belt and choosing to "avoid" big-punching interim champion Marcos Maidana of Argentina after all. Though many of his critics began hurling insults at Khan when it looked for a time as though the Brit, who has just signed with Golden Boy, may fight someone other than Maidana next (some reports suggested a possible fight with Paulie Mlaignaggi), these same critics will now have to give Khan some praise. Because, as has been reported on a number of boxing web sites - BoxRec and FightNews to name just two - Khan and Maidana recently agreed to fight one another, deeming purse bids for the intriguing fight unnecessary..

The fight between the two young champions and would-be big stars has yet to be announced officially and we can only speculate about when and where the quite mouth-watering match-up will take place - although the word is the fight has a good shot at happening in March or April (BoxRec have the fight up as taking place on April 17th in Las Vegas, on the under-card of the long awaited Jones-Hopkins II bill). It's no secret how 23-year-old Khan wants very much to make a name for himself in America, and what better way to start than with a U.S debut win over a guy many people felt he was afraid of due to his withering power?

It's also no secret how Khan's trainer, Freddie Roach, was never all that keen on his fighter taking on 26-year-old Maidana, because of how dangerous a proposition the fight was. Did Khan insist to Roach that he would face Maidana, so as to not be called all manner of names in the media and by the fans? Maybe. One thing is sure, Khan, who always has had enormous pride, despite what some of his critics may say, deserves credit for agreeing to fight the man who has an impressive 26 KO's from his 27 wins (one loss, on points to the man Khan dethroned last summer, Andriy Kotelnik).

If Khan, 22-1(16) can pull off a win over the man who can hit like a mule kicks but is not the most polished of boxers, he will have given his already accomplished career one major boost. No longer will the critics be able to say Khan cannot live with a banger. Still, it's way to early to speak about who may win the fight - the main thing, though, is we can look forward to the fight. Could Khan-Maidana even be one of 2010's best fights?

mark renton

:rolleyes:

looks like Amir was reading the posts on this thread and decided to man up - good stuff Amir, and I wholeheartedly apologise for calling you a yellow belly

BDF

walshb wrote: »

So, it seems that Khan will get his chance to prove if he has
what it takes to go further. Patience is a virtue!

by James Slater - It seems as though WBA light-welterweight ruler Amir Khan will not be giving up his belt and choosing to "avoid" big-punching interim champion Marcos Maidana of Argentina after all. Though many of his critics began hurling insults at Khan when it looked for a time as though the Brit, who has just signed with Golden Boy, may fight someone other than Maidana next (some reports suggested a possible fight with Paulie Mlaignaggi), these same critics will now have to give Khan some praise. Because, as has been reported on a number of boxing web sites - BoxRec and FightNews to name just two - Khan and Maidana recently agreed to fight one another, deeming purse bids for the intriguing fight unnecessary..

The fight between the two young champions and would-be big stars has yet to be announced officially and we can only speculate about when and where the quite mouth-watering match-up will take place - although the word is the fight has a good shot at happening in March or April (BoxRec have the fight up as taking place on April 17th in Las Vegas, on the under-card of the long awaited Jones-Hopkins II bill). It's no secret how 23-year-old Khan wants very much to make a name for himself in America, and what better way to start than with a U.S debut win over a guy many people felt he was afraid of due to his withering power?

It's also no secret how Khan's trainer, Freddie Roach, was never all that keen on his fighter taking on 26-year-old Maidana, because of how dangerous a proposition the fight was. Did Khan insist to Roach that he would face Maidana, so as to not be called all manner of names in the media and by the fans? Maybe. One thing is sure, Khan, who always has had enormous pride, despite what some of his critics may say, deserves credit for agreeing to fight the man who has an impressive 26 KO's from his 27 wins (one loss, on points to the man Khan dethroned last summer, Andriy Kotelnik).

If Khan, 22-1(16) can pull off a win over the man who can hit like a mule kicks but is not the most polished of boxers, he will have given his already accomplished career one major boost. No longer will the critics be able to say Khan cannot live with a banger. Still, it's way to early to speak about who may win the fight - the main thing, though, is we can look forward to the fight. Could Khan-Maidana even be one of 2010's best fights?

Fair play to Amir if he does fight Maidana although there is yet to be an official announcement so I will wait before getting too excited.
On a side note the guy who wrote that article, James Slater, is one of the most biased writers I have ever come across, he will defend any British fighter no matter what the circumstances. He wrote an article on Froch Dirrell basically saying that you cannot take a belt by boxing off the backfoot and that he thought Froch "won handily" yet he praises Haye in another article for employing "intelligent tactics" against Valuev! Off topic I know but I really can't stand that guy!

joepenguin

Yeah good choice imo. If he wins he can truely say he is one of the top fighters at 140 lbs. Slated for the undercard of Hopkins-Jones 2 no less!

walshb

BDF wrote: »

Fair play to Amir if he does fight Maidana although there is yet to be an official announcement so I will wait before getting too excited.
On a side note the guy who wrote that article, James Slater, is one of the most biased writers I have ever come across, he will defend any British fighter no matter what the circumstances. He wrote an article on Froch Dirrell basically saying that you cannot take a belt by boxing off the backfoot and that he thought Froch "won handily" yet he praises Haye in another article for employing "intelligent tactics" against Valuev! Off topic I know but I really can't stand that guy!

He deserves credit for meeting him; but here's the thing, I won't be at all surprised
should Khan win. He is a far better boxer, far faster and has the ability to do a number on this guy. The thing I noticed with the article that is inaccurate is:

"No longer will the critics be able to say Khan cannot live with a banger."

If Khan destroys Maidana without tasting flush shots, then the jury is STILL
out on his punch resistance. So, nobody can accuse me of being biased here.
I like Khan, want him to succeed and I do think he is a fantastic boxer and talent,
but he still needs to prove it on the world stage

BDF

walshb wrote: »

He deserves credit for meeting him; but here's the thing, I won't be at all surprised
should Khan win. He is a far better boxer, far faster and has the ability to do a number on this guy. The thing I noticed with the article that is inaccurate is:

"No longer will the critics be able to say Khan cannot live with a banger."

If Khan destroys Maidana without tasting flush shots, then the jury is STILL
out on his punch resistance. So, nobody can accuse me of being biased here.
I like Khan, want him to succeed and I do think he is a fantastic boxer and talent,
but he still needs to prove it on the world stage

I agree, Khan should be too much for Maidana, of course there is always the chance that he will get caught by the big puncher but if he uses his speed he could make Maidana look really ordinary.

Dr. Greenthumb

hope he does fight madiana and goes on to win, he's great to watch and has amazing skill. if he ducked it as was reported last week it'll fuel the talk about a glass chin.

ODD-JOB

Fair play to him , he could have ducked ........ and called himself clever .
He could have fought bums his whole career and then said it was business , with big pay day and low risk . He could have spent his career taking on big names who were shot fighters , and getting people to move massive weight classes up get a pay day , which would have made Amir look spectacular in victory .The clever coward's way .

But he knows his deficeit (chin handicap) and is still willing to take the risk of fighting M Maidena .
Guy has a bit of bottle and courage , and is putting it all on the line here .

Best thing that happened the kid was getting humiliated by Prescott ,..... he wiped that arrogant cockyness off Amir and made him humble .
I havent seen him disrespect an opponent since , and I have warmed greatly to the muslim boxer.

T-K-O

Has the deal been signed ? If so props to Khant for having a pair.

Rob113

I'd actually like to see Khan go on to be a huge star. I think he is exciting to watch and with Freddie in his corner i think he could acheive something great. If he meets and beats Maidana in a good scrap then there wont be too many out there knocking him. I dont want to see Khan blow him away within a couple of rounds but a decent scrap for 6/7 rounds each guy trading their best then Khans class coming out on top would be great imo.

walshb

It is being reported that Golden Boys Richard Schaeffer is looking for extra time before he has to talk with Maidana. An extension on talks. It may still result in this bout not happening next.
JMM is being mentioned as a likely Khan opponent next.

Wild_Dogger

Well , Khan's into deep water now no matter which way he turns .
Thats the end of the easier fights , now he's left the protection of Warren

walshb

Wild_Dogger wrote: »

Well , Khan's into deep water now no matter which way he turns .
Thats the end of the easier fights , now he's left the protection of Warren

That's a great point. From here on in it's up and up. Is it all that important that he meets Maidana next? He will meet better fighters every fight, and if Maidana is next so be it, if he's after next so be it. Khan is still just 23.
By the end of 2010 I am betting that Khan meets Maidana or even better than wild and crude Maidana.

joepenguin

Kahn is down on boxrec to fight Maidana on the 3rd April on the undercard of Hopkins-Jones and to fight Marquez on the 1st of May on the Mayweather-Mosely card.

Surely he cant fight both these guys in the little amount of time but I wonder which if any will go ahead?

http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=314558&cat=boxer


lol, Marquez is down to box in the MGM on the first and eight of May. Take it they are just behind or pencilling stuff in.
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=12222&cat=boxer