Fighting Words From Amir Khan: 'Talk Is Cheap'

For months, it has seemed that southpaw WBC and IBF junior welterweight (140 pounds) champion Devon Alexander and his WBO counterpart, Tim Bradley, have traded verbal taunts online calling each other out.

But the most explosive and surprising comments may have come from 23-year-old WBA king Amir Khan (23-1, 17 knockouts), an Englishman whose relatively quiet demeanor was belied by this recent, searing statement.

"I'll fight Tim Bradley. It's the first time he's called me out. I'm going to Vegas and I'll talk to Golden Boy. I would love the fight," said Khan (pictured above, at right), who is coming off of a May 15, 11th-round knockout of Paulie Malignaggi (27-5, five KOs). "Good style for me. I'm fighting Timothy Bradley next. I'm gonna tell Golden Boy. Let's see if they want it for real. Talk is cheap."

Truth to be told, Khan's sentiment was just the thing that HBO's Ross Greenburg was waiting for.

"We were waiting on Amir Khan, and he is the one that made the most dramatic statement after the Bradley fight. Tim Bradley has not been shy about wanting to fight the best in the 140-pound division. And Alexander stepped up to the plate and challenged him as well," said Greenburg, HBO's president of sports.

"But I think that if Amir Khan is going to embolden himself to go after Tim Bradley right away, then all of a sudden we do have what we need," said Greenburg, who has targeted Dec. 11 as Khan's return date. "Now, we have everyone kind of stepping up and wanting to challenge each other in that division. That's exactly what the division needs, and what boxing needs right now. I applaud all of the fighters for doing that."

Khan's wrath was drawn out by the 26-year-old Bradley (26-0, 11 knockouts), who spoke live on Saturday night following his HBO-televised 12-round, unanimous victory decision over previously unbeaten welterweight (147 pounds) rival Luis Carlos Abregu.

"Anybody. Any of the top guys out there. Especially you, Devon Alexander. If everything is alright, and the money's right, everything is lined up, I'll fight you next," said Bradley. "You, Devon, Maidana, and Khan. I'll fight all of them. I'm a throwback fighter, baby, I'll fight all of them."

Considered the premiere fighter in a deep and talented 140-pound weight class that includes Khan, the 23-year-old Alexander (20-0, 13 KOs), Argentina's 26-year-old WBA interim champ Marcos Rene Maidana (28-1, 27 KOs) and 23-year-old contender Victor Ortiz (27-2-1, 21 KOs) of Oxnard, Calif, Bradley then took his boasts even further.

Alexander (pictured at right) responded as he always does, calling himself "The true king of the division" and telling Bradley he had "nowhere to hide."

But when Khan threw down the gauntlet, he really shook things up.

"What's that called between England and the U.S.? The pond, right? Well guess what? The pond just got some really major ripples from Amir Khan," said Bradley's promoter, Gary Shaw. "You know how they say fighters from other countries have to cross over the pond? That's the expression. So the tide has swelled in the pond from a possible Bradley-Devon Alexander fight to a Bradley-Khan fight."

Bradley is hoping for an HBO-televised Jan. 29 bout opposite Alexander, which would take place the day before the NFL's 2011 Super Bowl.

Alexander would first have to get through an HBO-televised Aug. 7 second defense of his WBC title -- and the first of his IBF crown -- against former WBA titlist Andriy Kotelnik (31-3-1, 13 KOs) before his hometown fans in St. Louis, Mo.

Prior to Bradley-Alexander, however, Shaw would like to see Bradley-Khan.

"I think that it's time for Amir Khan to cross over the pond, and, of course I'm happy about that," said Shaw. "I believe that the two undefeated fighters should have an opportunity to allow their fight to percolate. This gives us the opportunity to allow Bradley-Alexander to percolate."

Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, said he was not surprised by Khan's initiative.

"I kept saying to the media that Amir Khan is not afraid to fight anybody, and when he signed with Golden Boy, he made it clear to us that he wanted to fight any and all guys. I mean, he even said it after the [Paulie Malignaggi] fight. So he never said that doesn't want to fight Bradley or Alexander or any of these guys," said Schaefer of Khan, who made his American debut by defeating Malignaggi at New York's Madison Square Garden.

"Amir Khan never ruled anybody out. But sometimes fighters out-maneuver themselves or out-negotiate themselves on the negotiating table," said Schaefer. "So we're going to need to sit down with Amir Khan. I'm not going to negotiate his next fight in the media. We're going to sit down and discuss the different options and how we're going to go with it."

Khan will be at ringside for a July 31 bout between WBO and WBA lightweight (135 pounds) king Juan Manuel Marquez (50-5-1, 37 knockouts) and Juan Diaz (35-3, 17 KOs) in a rematch of their February, 2009, Fight of The Year won by Marquez via ninth-round knockout.

Not only is Khan a consideration for Marquez if Marquez wins, but also for the winner of a July 31, 139-pound, catch weight bout between southpaw former two-time IBF featherweight (126 pounds) and one-time IBF super featherweight (130 pounds) champion, Robert Guerrero (26-1-1, 17 KOs) and former four-time world champion Joel Casamayor (37-4, 22 KOs).

"We'll talk about it next week when I see Amir Khan in Las Vegas. I'm going to look at Marquez. The fact is that Amir Khan has many options. He has a line up of options," said Schaefer.

"Amir Khan has a chance to face Marcos Rene Maidana, the winner of Marquez and Diaz, and Victor Ortiz is very interested in fighting Khan," said Schaefer. "So there's potentially the winner between Robert Guerrero and Joel Casamayor. And, obviously, Bradley. So there is a bunch of potential names out there, and we're going to see where we can get the best deal."

For Greenburg, the prospect of a 140-pound tournament is now a reality.

"All of those 140-pound fights intrigue us. You know, it's a hot division with a lot of good solid match ups. You can throw all of those names into a hat and draw them," said Greenburg (pictured at right).

"Khan and Maidana and Bradley and Alexander. All of those names," said Greenburg. "Put them in a hat and pull out those names and let them fight. That's a solid division and we can make some hay with it over the next couple of years."