If I Were Amir Khan...

Follow Wylie on Twitter here.

I'm not sure what I'd do if I were Amir Khan. On one hand, Peterson gave him fits last time, yes it was a close fight, but remember, it took Peterson 2-3 rounds to figure out there was no weight behind Khan's jab, and he could walk him to the ropes and land overhand rights and lefts at will, because of Khan's inability to fight in close on the ropes. This time, if Khan hasn't improved, Peterson already has a blueprint at the ready. There will not be a three round feeling out process this time.

On the other hand, the rematch is a chance for Khan to exorcise this stylistic demon - how to prevent severe pressure, and work on the inside effectively. Sugar Ray Robinson had a similar start in boxing as Khan, in the sense that he was toughly matched, right from the start. I love the fact that Khan knows what his kryptonite is, and still wants to improve as a fighter. This is the most important part of a fighter's development, unlike Alvarez and Chavez Junior, Khan is being fed fighters who are going to make him improve in the long run, and not just make him look good now. If he faces, and defeats Peterson beyond doubt, which he is capable of, if Khan has spent time working on how to improve his inside craft, then he makes one hell of a statement.

I honestly feel Khan has a great chance of taking over the superstar mantle after Pacquiao and Mayweather are gone, especially if he can land a fight with Mayweather. This could be a blessing in disguise for Khan - Mayweather feels quite strongly about cheating, doesn't he? That was one of the reasons {he said} he selected Cotto, because of the handwrap issue. Mayweather and Khan could make a great statement for anti-PEDs in boxing by facing each other in the fall. If that fight was made, then all-out talk over the last few days about styles becomes relevant big time.

It's funny how things turn out in boxing. We should have seen Khan-Bradley {like Mayweather-Pacquiao} years ago. Imagine, if Bradley defeats Pacquiao and Khan defeats Mayweather.....suddenly Khan-Bradley is the fight for all the marbles. Stranger things have happened, readers.

Comment on this article