By Chris Robinson
At the moment, the next opponent for Floyd Mayweather is undecided.
Slated for a May 3 return to the ring inside of the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Mayweather has stayed relatively mum on who he would prefer to meet, although his hints have revealed that he isn’t completely opposed to facing off with British star Amir Khan.
During a recent conversation with Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, he addressed the Mayweather-Khan rumors with myself and RingTV.com’s Lem Satterfield.
“You know, when Floyd fights it’s an event,” Schaefer stated. “And Floyd could frankly fight Joe Schmoe and it could still be an event because of his personality, his reach, his everything. A Floyd event is must-see TV; it’s a must-see event.”
Schaefer then took a dig at the sport’s number two star attraction, Manny Pacquiao, who is coming off of a showcase with Brandon Rios that pulled in slightly less than half a million pay per view buys. In contrast, Mayweather’s September outing against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez reportedly generated over 2.2 million buys.
“That’s why Floyd had in his last fight, more pay per views than Manny Pacquiao had in his last three or four together,” said Schaefer. “He’s in a league of his own.”
Schaefer then gave his assessment of the potential fight, obviously playing up Khan’s strengths in the wake of some public criticism towards the matchup.
“Khan might not have looked as stellar in his last couple fights as one would have hoped,” Schaefer admitted. “But there are these two sayings; ‘Styles make fights and speed kills’ and I think both of those two sayings are very applicable to this fight if it were to happen.
“Amir Khan is one of the most-skilled fighters, but I’m not going to say that he’s more skilled than Floyd Mayweather,” Schaefer added. “Floyd Mayweather is the most skilled fighter in the sport, end of story. This generation, maybe of any generation.”
Mayweather is coming off of a great 2013 campaign that saw him score whitewash decision victories over Robert Guerrero and Saul Alvarez. Mayweather won each fight handily and showed the same reflexes, quickness, and acumen that has typified his career.
Still, Schaefer feels that Khan brings something to the table that Floyd’s recent opponents don’t have.
“But as I’m saying that, I’m going to go on the record in saying that Amir Khan is faster than Floyd Mayweather,” Schaefer claimed. “No question about it. What do we know about Floyd? We know that size doesn’t bother him. Look at Canelo. We know that power doesn’t bother him. Many examples of that. What can you hurt that you can’t hit?
“But what we know as well, as you look at the Zab [Judah] fight, for example; the one thing that does bother Floyd is speed,” Schaefer noted. “And I think it would be a fascinating matchup and if it would happen I give Amir Khan a hell of chance. Because they say Amir doesn’t have much of a chin. But we know as well that Floyd is not exactly the biggest puncher either. I think it would be fascinating matchup if it happens.”
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