Filed under: Boxing
Poor Amir Khan, the guy just can't seem to catch a break at the minute and it seems his chances of unifying the light-welterweight division have hit a huge stumbling block.The WBA champion was hoping to face WBO and WBC king Timothy Bradley on a July 23 date that has been set aside for his next outing in the US.
Despite the deal looking all but done only a few weeks ago, the American has now refused to sign a deal to face Khan - yet another problem for the British fighter after a turbulent few months.
The 24-year-old was hoping to put all the headaches that the April clash with Paul McCloskey caused behind him as he looked to the US to continue his bid to become the undisputed light-welterweight champion.
But after tough negotiations with McCloskey, a broken down relationship with broadcasters Sky and that much-talked about controversial ending with the Northern Irishman, Khan's woes are continuing.
Bradley is seemingly unhappy at what he has been offered for the fight, whether it be from his own promoters or Khan's side, and has refused to put pen to paper on a deal.
And while the fight with the American is not dead in the water just yet, Khan has already turned his focus away from the WBC and WBO champion and is looking toward IBF title holder Zab Judah.
A fight with Judah would be a big attraction in the US and a great opportunity for Khan to grab another belt in the division.
"I wanted to fight Bradley to unify the division, but he pulled out, he doesn't want to fight. He was talking a big fight but now he just pulled out. There are very few opponents left," Khan told Sky Sports.
"We are either looking at someone like Robert Guerrero or Zab Judah, who is also an IBF champion. But I'm happy to fight whoever they put in front of me," added Khan.
Judah, who was once an undisputed force in the welterweight division and would prove a tough test for Khan in what could be an exciting match-up.
Despite this, Khan confirmed on his Twitter page that Sky are not interested in showing his next outing on July 23 no matter who it is against - another headache for the 24-year-old.
The Khan camp seemed to have burned their bridges with the broadcaster after they turned their back on them just days before the McCloskey defence.
Sky decided to drop that fight from pay-per-view and the furious Khan team moved to another channel - leaving the original broadcasters out of pocket after months of trailing both fighters for preview shows that would never be aired.
That's obviously left a bitter taste but one good piece of news for Khan is that conditioning coach Alex Ariza seems to have settled his differences with the Bolton man's team.
Ariza's work with the WBA champion helped him through his thrilling fight with Marcos Maidana last year, but contract disputes saw the coach ousted from the camp before the McCloskey fight.
However, they have apparently put their differences aside and Ariza, who has continued working with Khan's gym mate Manny Pacquiao, will help the Bolton fighter prepare his July 23 date - now all he needs is an opponent to prepare for.
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