In a recent post on his official Twitter page, former welterweight champion Victor Ortiz listed former jr. welterweight champion Amir Khan at the top of his hit list as he looks to find a new opponent for his return to the ring. "Since my fight didn't work out w/ Berto, I want @AmirKingKhan @caneloalvarez and @antoniomargarito let's do this," he would post. Ortiz was originally set to make his return next weekend in the highly-anticipated rematch with Andre Berto. Unfortunately, while training, Berto would suffered a bicep injury that forced the fight to be cancelled.
Initially, there were talks of simply postponing the bout with Berto to a later date. "If it's not an extended period, then, obviously, the idea is to go straight into the fight," Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer explained shortly after learning about the severity of the injury. "But if not Andre -- and again, we are only speculating that he could be out for an extended period -- then the idea is that Victor would do a fight in between because Victor is not going to just sit around."
After seeking a second opinion, Berto received good news that he would not require surgery, however, it looks like he'll still need 8-12 weeks to recover. Having been out of the ring since September, Ortiz is hoping to make a return sooner rather than later, thus prompting he and his team to begin looking at other options. While his trainer, Danny Garcia, recently suggested the winner of of the February 25th showdown between Devon Alexander and Marcos Maidana, it appears that Ortiz has his sights set on some bigger names.
Coincidentally, Amir Khan has also expressed interest in facing Victor Ortiz. The two previously fought as amateurs in a bout that Khan dominated on points. Although he's still hoping to get a rematch with Lamont Peterson, Khan recently revealed that he is eyeing Ortiz as a backup plan should Peterson turn down the $1.5 million he's been offered to make the fight. "It would be a fight that I would take. I wouldn't say no to it. When we were at 140, we were looking at fighting each other then. At 147, definitely, I think it would be an ideal fight for me. He did beat Berto and I just heard that his rematch with Berto was called off. Maybe my next fight could be against him, who knows," Khan would comment.
A matchup between Khan and Ortiz would be relatively easy to make considering that they're both promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.
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