Do you remember when James Toney gave it a shot in MMA? Well, Toney was way past his prime and had no clue what he was getting into, when he entered the Octagon to get quickly finished by Randy Couture five years ago. Amir Khan is a top-five welterweight, has been a UFC fan for years, and, as announced yesterday, is now the co-owner of the India-based MMA promotion Super Fight League.
He also told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour that he won’t rule out to step into the cage himself some day, after his boxing career is over.
“I just love all the grappling and everything that happens in cage fighting and the technique and everything,” Khan said. “In a boxing fight, there’s not much grappling allowed. In MMA fights, there’s a lot of floor work, a lot of grappling. At the same time, I’m a good puncher myself; I’m a good boxer. So at least I’ve got an advantage. If I work a little bit on my grappling, you never know. I might go in the cage next.”
However, Khan, a former world champion who currently eyes a huge fight against Manny Pacquiao, backpedaled immediately. The Pacquiao fight would be the biggest payday of his career. He was also in talks as Floyd Mayweather’s next opponent, before the pound-for-pound king chose Andre Berto for his 49th bout.
“Boxing pays me well,” Khan said. “I love the boxing. It would be very hard (to fight MMA). I don’t think I’ll ever do that. I don’t think my mom would like to see me in a cage fighting. Obviously she hates me boxing, let alone being in an MMA fight. […] I don’t think I’d ever do that, but you never know,” Khan said of an MMA fight. “I’m a fighter. I’m a born fighter. You never know. I might just want to one day say, ‘Hey I’m going to tie the gloves up and I’m gonna go into the cage.’ You just never know.”
Khan has big plans with Super Fight League. He wants to give young, up and coming fighters a chance and put on 52 events worldwide in the coming year. The promotion was founded in 2012. It has held five events this year, three of them in the USA.
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