Amir Khan vs. Lamont Peterson: Is the Winner Ready for Mayweather or Pacquiao?

With the rematch of December's highly controversial Amir Khan-Lamont Peterson light welterweight title a little more than a month away, I found myself wondering if the winner would be ready to fight either a Pacquiao or a Mayweather later on in the year.  

Both have been mentioned as future opponents for the two pound-for-pound kings, with Khan wanting to fight Floyd in November and Peterson being on the short list to fight Pacquiao this June before he agreed to fight Khan on May 19. 

So if both are being brought up in that conversation, how would they perform against Mayweather or Pacquiao? 

For Khan, who I expect to make the proper adjustments in Vegas and come away with the victory, I think he stands a very good chance against Mayweather. 

Khan is one of the few fighters who can match Floyd's speed, and his reflexes are among the best in the game. Floyd's defense might cause a lot of problems for Khan, but Khan's pretty smart and with Freddie Roach in his corner, you can't count him out.

Against Pacquiao, I think Khan would have a lot of problems. Pacquiao is similar to Khan in speed, but Pacquiao's power would probably overwhelm him late in the fight.

However, they have sparred in the past and word coming out of the Wild Card gym is that they've been very competitive against one another.

So while the edge goes to Pacquiao, I guess Khan has a shot, depending on how Manny looks against Bradley on June 9.

Regarding Lamont Peterson, I think he's a good, solid fighter. However, I strongly believe he simply got lucky against Khan in December in his hometown of Washington DC. He probably loses that fight if it takes place anywhere else in the world, but I digress.

I wouldn't give Peterson a chance against either Manny or Floyd. Yes he's a good fighter, but he lacks that certain something that makes certain fighters elite. He's certainly a capable fighter but he doesn't have the skill to compete at the sports highest level.

So, out of all these fights, I would give Khan his best chance against Mayweather.

I don't think Peterson could defeat any of them, even if Joe Cooper were the referee in Washington DC with three of Peterson's friends as the judges, because Pacquiao and Mayweather would both stop him inside the distance.

As for their upcoming engagement, it should be an excellent fight and I look forward to tuning in on HBO come May 19.

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