"Ortiz went into it with, I think, the wrong game plan. Everyone thinks you have to go in there and rough him up. Everyone thinks to fight Floyd, you have to go rough him up. Obviously I'm not going to give my game plan away, but I don't think that's the right way to beat him...I'm exciting to watch; whether they love me or hate me, they gonna watch me. I think that fight with Maywether, next year, will happen in London or in Vegas. Mayweather's dream is to fight in England. Everyone in the UK loves him. I have a lot of fans. It would be big over here. The fight will definitely happen. I mean, he fancies his chances against me; same do I against him. There's too much money for him to not fight me...I have the speed, the accuracy, and the movement. A lot of fighters who fight him just come forward and walk in straight lines, like Marquez, Ortiz, and you seen what happened to Hatton, and Mosley was very stiff and static. I'm a completely different fighter. Okay, all these fighters have lost; I have too. The only thing I have over him is I've lost and I've tasted defeat. That's what I have over him. It's hard to handle the fear of defeat, trust me," stated jr. welterweight champion Amir Khan as he shared his thoughts on Floyd Mayweather's 4th round knockout victory over Victor Ortiz. You don't want to miss what else he had to say as Khan is confident that he has the right game plan to be the first to defeat Mayweather some time next year. Check it out!
BJ: Amir, how are you doing?
AK: Good, thanks.
BJ: Right, I'm gonna get straight into it. Mayweather-Ortiz fight, what's your take?
AK: It was exiting to watch and, you know, it was going to be an exciting fight either way. Ortiz went into it with, I think, the wrong game plan. Everyone thinks you have to go in there and rough him up. Everyone thinks to fight Floyd, you have to go rough him up. Obviously I'm not going to give my game plan away, but I don't think that's the right way to beat him 'cause that's what Floyd Mayweather trains for. He trains for people to come at him, try to rough him up, and Mayweather has the best defense in the world.
BJ: True...
AK: (Cutting in) Ortiz was doing quite well. I know he was getting caught with the backhands, but it's a twelve round fight; you have to remember that. I honestly thought Floyd Mayweather would have stopped him in the late rounds or properly won on points, but Ortiz headbutted him as he got frustrated; he tried too hard too early and got frustrated too early. You don't headbutt Floyd Mayweather. He has too much pride and self-respect to get headbutted, and even if he won that fight on KO or points, I don't think he would have been satisfied because of the headbutt, so Floyd will do what he has to do. Ortiz knew he was gonna headbutt him. I don't think any other boxer would've done that to Ortiz, even though his hands were down. Ortiz got a point taken off. For him [Floyd] to have done what he had, he's ruthless. It nearly happened to me in the Maidana fight in the 10th round. If he knocked me down, it would still count.
BJ: Would you have taken the opportunity that Floyd did, Amir?
AK: It's hard to say; it depends. That was a dirty headbutt; depends what type of person you are. Ortiz did it once too many. For me, if someone's apologizing to me, no I would not do that.
BJ: Freddie said headbutting Mayweather may be the key to knocking him out his zone and disrupting him?
AK: He's right. You have to remember, Freddie is the smartest guy out there. He's gonna say things that may be the complete opposite to what he's thinking. Sometimes, at public workouts and stuff like that, I think Freddie is giving the game plan away; sometimes, he does it on purpose. Freddie's a smart guy, so...
BJ: What's the word on a possible Mayweather fight for you?
AK: Ya know what I seen? A poll today on ESPN, and I think after Martinez, I think I was the most popular one for the public to see fight Mayweather. I mean, before the likes of Cotto, Margarito and Berto, so that's a big compliment and makes me feel good. I mean, a lot of them have talent and stuff, but not many of the guys have the power to pull the public. I'm exciting to watch; whether they love me or hate me, they gonna watch me. I think that fight, next year, will happen in London or in Vegas. Mayweather's dream is to fight in England. Everyone in the UK loves him. I have a lot of fans. It would be big over here. The fight will definitely happen. I mean, he fancies his chances against me; same do I against him. There's too much money for him to not fight me.
BJ: What are your thoughts on Mayweather claiming you can not sell out an arena?
AK: You have to remember, I've only fought in America 3 times. One in New York. One in Las Vegas, and Maidana is from Argentina, so I filled that arena out myself; so I Obviously can sell tickets. If Floyd Mayweather was fighting me, it would have been sold straight out. Floyd brought all the crowd, not Ortiz. When Ortiz fought on my undercard, he didn't sell no tickets, so I would be bringing more to the table and would not have this problem if we fought.
BJ: Why would you be different from the other 42 guys he's fought, Amir?
AK: I have the speed, the accuracy, and the movement. A lot of fighters who fight him just come forward and walk in straight lines, like Marquez, Ortiz, and you seen what happened to Hatton, and Mosley was very stiff and static. I'm a completely different fighter. Okay, all these fighters have lost; I have too. The only thing I have over him is I've lost and I've tasted defeat. That's what I have over him. It's hard to handle the fear of defeat, trust me.
BJ: Could he underestimate you then?
AK: I think he will. A lot of boxers think they can get in and KO me 'cause I've been knocked out once before, but if you notice how hard it is to catch me with punches; Amir Khan may get caught with the odd jab now and again, a lazy jab, but I very rarely get caught with big shots or combinations. Mayweather is a one, two-shot fighter. He rarely throws combinations. The Maidana fight is the only time people seen me get caught. Zab Judah couldn't do it. Paul Mccloskey couldn't do it. They seen it happened once, so all they see on TV is me getting knocked out, but it's easier said than done. They can't catch me when they realize I'm too fast; they can't catch me. That's what happened with Judah; he was missing and getting tagged.
BE SURE TO CHECK BACK SOON FOR PART TWO OF THIS LENGTHY INTERVIEW WITH JR. WELTERWEIGHT AMIR KHAN