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Amir Khan- move forward and forget about the name Floyd Mayweather

After almost two years of pursuing the greatest matchup, payday and opportunity of his career, to have it denied to you by Mayweather for Andre Berto must be devastating for Amir Khan.

But ‘King Khan’ must erase these bitter memories because at only 28, he has a chance to rule the welterweight division and create an indelible legacy.

It won’t be easy due to the high quality of opponents present and nothing is guaranteed in boxing especially with the monopoly of power in the sport.

There is another American welterweight inviting Khan into battle and his name isn’t Floyd Mayweather. Undefeated Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman has made it public that he wants to fight Amir.

This is a type of contest boxing fans thrive on- a competitive event between two big names which represents a clash of styles.

Khan possesses the speed and technical ability to take Thurman’s WBA Regular welterweight crown. But would he have the discipline and chin to deal with Thurman’s pounding shots that are thrown for the sole purpose of knocking out the challenger?

Boxing is about where the money is and Khan and Thurman would make a nice payday here. It’s also a crowd pleaser and the winner would surely go on to challenge for world honours.

If Khan were to be victorious Eddie Hearn will be desperate to set up a domestic war with IBF welterweight title holder Kell Brook at Wembley Stadium in a world championship contest.

With Khan walking out in front of 80,000 spectators in his home country with the prospect of becoming a three time world champion, Floyd Mayweather would be the last thing on his mind.

Another option for the fighter from Bolton is to avenge his crushing defeat to Danny Garcia, who now competes at welterweight. In their previous meeting Khan was destroyed. He was bullied around the ring as if he were a novice and the malevolent Garcia showed no mercy. With Khan now being a more complete and intelligent combatant, under the guidance of trainer Virgil Hunter, he should be excited about the challenge of putting his loss to Garcia right.

There are possibilities galore for Khan. We know Mayweather isn’t one of them but he now has to accept that. Significant fights are out there and if he were to rule the division and pick up more world titles, he would be a legend of boxing.

You never know what you will get with Amir Khan. And regardless of his prior indifferent performance against Chris Algieri, he usually produces great excitement. Even without Mayweather on his record, there is money, classic encounters and a hall of fame award in reach of Khan, if he wants to push himself to achieve greatness.

With Mayweather stepping into the shadows, it’s time for Amir Khan to emerge into the boxing limelight and prove to all that he is a worthy champion of the sweet science.

Liam McInerney

Colour writer for world section of irish-boxing.com. A Sugar Ray Robinson biography inspired me to be a boxing journalist. Twitter- @_LiamMcInerney

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