Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Amir Khan will likely square off on May 3 next year. and while some critics are saying that it will be an easy fight for Mayweather, former champion Ricky Hatton thinks otherwise.
Hatton, who once faced Mayweather in his career but failed to hand the undefeated American his first defeat, said that he is not sure if Khan can defeat Mayweather.
But for the former British champion, Khan could get Mayweather into trouble with the former's vaunted hand speed, saying that the planned bout is not a mismatch like most experts are saying.
"Amir Khan is probably the closest fighter to Floyd Mayweather from a speed point of view. Floyd usually has fighters out flying at him, like Miguel Cotto or myself, so it will be interesting to see if he has to cut the ring down and try and go after someone," Khan said in an interview with Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show as reported by Boxingscene.
"It's not a mismatch, Khan likes to have a fight. His best attributes are his speed and his boxing ability. If he sticks to that, jabs and moves, and Floyd has to come after him, then he might have to style to cause him serious problems. I'm not sure he'd beat him though," Hatton added.
Hatton also reiterated that Khan deserves the chance to face the reigning pound-for-pound king, saying that Mayweather is running out of opponents and a fight against Khan is arguably the most marketable fight for Floyd Jr.
"Mayweather is running out of opponents, he's been that good and if anyone deserves a shot, it's Amir Khan. There are very few fighters who can match him in speed," Hatton said in an interview with ESPN UK.
And when asked about his thoughts on the long-awaited showdown between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, who knocked him out in May 2009, Hatton said that he can't see it happening anytime soon unless the Filipino boxing hero scores an emphatic win against Brandon Rios on Nov. 23 in Macau.
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