Amir Khan vs. Lamont Peterson Decision Helps Khan Not Get Thrown to Mayweather

As much as some fans might be grumbling about the decision which saw Lamont Peterson defeat Amir Khan, it might be the best thing for the young Brit.

Even though most fans want to see Pacquiao-Mayweather come to fruition, history shows that it might not happen. 

The best way for Mayweather to sell a pay-per-view would be to fight a young fighter who draws fans, and in this case, is coached by the same trainer as Pacquiao.

It isn't outside the realm of possibility and it is something Mayweather might have tried use as leverage to promote an eventual fight with Pacquiao.  After all, Khan is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, who have helped Mayweather with his last few fights.

Now with Khan having lost his last match, it looks like that isn't a real option.  It may be true that most fans and media observers saw a close fight that might have been a draw or a win for Khan, but the ledger still has a recorded loss for him.

The loss was marred by a little bit of controversy, but it is also enough that even if he was being considered as an opponent for Mayweather, that option is out the door.

And it could honestly be the best thing that could have happened to Khan.  

If he had been thrown into a high-level matchup this early in his career, it could have destroyed not just his marketability, but his growth as a boxer.

Khan is a skilled fighter, but he isn't ready to face a prizefighter at Mayweather's level.  If a fight between the two did take place, it would just be 12 rounds of Khan getting outboxed and possibly knocked out as well.

More important than the beating that Khan would suffer would be the damage to his ego.  Every fighter, especially on the top level, believes that they are the best in the world.  They have to.

They have to believe that they can beat the Floyd Mayweathers and the Manny Pacquiaos of the world, otherwise they might not have the guts to step into the ring.

But for someone as young and ambitious as Khan to step into the ring with Mayweather at this point is dangerous because he believes that he can do it and win.  Coming up short at this point in his career might dash that powerful zeal and leave him shaken and wavering in his determination.

In the end, the Peterson loss stops Khan from getting to a higher level of competition that he wasn't ready for to begin with.  In the modern world of boxing, this is detrimental, but in the long run, Khan will benefit from it just like he did when he was knocked out by Breidis Prescott back in 2008.  

Just like that loss, Khan might be able to rebuild and learn from such an experience.

And that is worth seeing more than any big fight he might have appeared in.