Floyd Mayweather has confirmed how wise Amir Khan is not to fall for the bait of appearing on the great man’s undercard after being dumped from the big fight itself. At his first media conference since announcing Marcos Maidana as his opponent in Las Vegas on May 3, the world’s pound-for-pound king has made this very clear: ‘I choose who I want to fight, when I want.’ Mayweather had tried to goad Khan into fighting his protegee Adrien Broner that night, hinting that he would give our young man from Bolton his big-bucks shot if he won. Announcement: Floyd Mayweather will fight Marcos Maidana on May 3 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas . While that would have boosted Mayweather’s pay-per-view revenue, Khan nursed serious doubts that he would be Floyd Jnr’s next Chosen One come September, win or lose against Broner. After all, one promise had already been broken. So Khan, having lost almost a year waiting for God in gloves, will go his own way this spring. Perhaps as early as this week, he will name a comeback opponent and a date. That will not be Kell Brook in the UK, either, since that would not improve his chances of ever fighting Mayweather. Khan is looking for a marquee win in America. Mayweather, meanwhile, continues to exercise his box-office power over his sport. In the pipeline: Amir Khan is looking for a marquee win in America, not a British showdown with Kell Brook . Does what he wants: Mayweather ignored his own poll about who to fight next . That privilege has been hard won but by hand-picking the likes of Maidana – whose rough-hewn style is likely to suit him – he risks accusations of evading rivals who might have the speed to pose a different problem. ‘I don’t duck anyone,’ says Mayweather. Personally, since he is the best in the world and knows it, I believe him. But we are approaching the point where he may have to prove it. If, next month, Manny Pacquiao avenges that scandalous decision given to Tim Bradley the pressure will crank up yet again for the long-deferred super-fight between the PacMan and the Money Man. Mayweather, having instigated his . Twitter poll asking fans to vote whether he should fight Khan or . Maidana, then ignored the result. But at some point, for credibility’s sake, he may have to let the public choose his opponent for him. Different paths: Khan rejected the chance to fight on Adrien Broner on Mayweather's undercard . Warrior: Maidana pushed Khan all the way when they fought in Las Vegas in 2010 . The Cinammon Kid made a tasty comeback at the weekend. Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez served up a timely reminder that no boxer should be consigned to the slops bucket just because he loses the odd fight. What matters is how he responds to that setback when he returns to the ring. Back with a bang: Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez beat Alfredo Angulo on Saturday in Las Vegas . Alvarez, having been bewildered last September by Floyd Mayweather’s most recent master class, resurfaced in Las Vegas with a dynamic performance against a fellow Mexican considered so dangerous that he revels in the nickname El Perro – The Dog. Alfredo Angulo never got close to putting the bite on Canelo, despite a couple of quibbles nagging at the event. In an echo of Froch-Groves 1, the referee was booed for a tenth round stoppage which many in the crowd at the MGM Grand Garden arena deemed premature. Just as the British Boxing Board of Control backed their official Howard Foster, so the Nevada State Athletic Commission is defending Tony Weeks. Although Alvarez was well behind on the cards, in contrast to George Groves who was leading Carl Froch, the argument was similar: Do we want one punch too few, or one punch too many? It is a fine line which the referees have to tread but, in principle, better to stop it a mite early than end up in hospital later that night. Less acceptable was Canelo’s failure to make the light-middleweight limit. He said he could have squeezed off the extra poundage had it been a title fight but really that only made it more cynical. Too many boxers are hitting the scales too heavy these days and that in itself hints at another medical risk. Rather than dehydrate to make the weight, shouldn’t they be moving up to a more natural division? The consolation for Angulo was that he picked up an extra $100,000 deducted from the Alvarez purse. Nevertheless, Canelo made a statement as important for boxing as for himself. Most champions are defined by how they come back from losing their titles. The great boxers of the past, with such rare exceptions as Rocky Marciano and Joe Calzaghe, had defeats on their records, Muhammad Ali , Joe Louis and the two Sugar Rays, Robinson and Leonard, among them. Response: Alvarez bounced back from his disappointing loss to Mayweather by beating Angulo . Yet of late it has become a crime to lose a fight. That misconception keeps growing the longer Mayweather - 45-0 and counting - goes without suffering his first defeat. Canelo, fully restored now to world title contention, has dished up a powerful defence against that nonsense. Expect Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan to do the same, shortly. Carl Frampton – anointed by his coach the great Barry McGuigan as his successor to the throne of Ulster boxing – has been given added incentive to win his world title eliminator against Hugo Cazares in Belfast next month. Leo Santa Cruz, after impressively retaining his WBC super-bantamweight crown against former champion Cristian Mijares in Las Vegas on Saturday night, pronounced himself eager to do the same against Frampton. That would appear to put Frampton just one victory away from his first world title bid, possibly at a sold-out stadium in Belfast in September. If so, it should be an Irish cracker. Clash: Carl Frampton (left) could be just one fight away from a crack at WBC champion Leo Santa Cruz (right) When Muhammad Ali came to Newcastle in 1977 he struck up a friendship with a Geordie fan which endures to this day. The Greatest never forgot the courtesy and attention he received from Russell Routledge when he visited Tyneside to have his marriage to former wife Veronica blessed at a local mosque. The pair kept in touch and three years later Ali not only invited Routledge to meet him in Los Angeles but invited him to stay at his mansion. Ovation: Former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali touches down in Newcastle in 1977 . Geordie nation: A young admirer gives Ali a kiss on his arrival in Newcastle . Much more recently, Routledge travelled from Newcastle to be a guest at Ali’s 70th birthday dinner in Louisville. That relationship offers a touching insight into the caring side of Ali’s nature and now Routledge has put pen to paper for a new book. By his own admission, Routledge is not a writer but this memoir adds a different dimension to the Ali story and is worth the read. *Muhammad Ali – Tyneside 1977. Amberley, £12.99.
Mayweather ignored his own poll to decide who he should fight next .
Khan was offered a chance to fight on Mayweather v Maidana undercard .
Bolton fighter is looking for a big win in America, not a battle with Brook .
'Canelo' Alvarez returned to the ring with a bang on Saturday .
Frampton could be one win from a show at WBC champion Santa Cruz .
Floyd Mayweather has confirmed how wise Amir Khan is not to fall for the bait of appearing on the great man’s undercard after being dumped from the big fight itself. At his first media conference since announcing Marcos Maidana as his opponent in Las Vegas on May 3, the world’s pound-for-pound king has made this very clear: ‘I choose who I want to fight, when I want.’ Mayweather had tried to goad Khan into fighting his protegee Adrien Broner that night, hinting that he would give our young man from Bolton his big-bucks shot if he won. Announcement: Floyd Mayweather will fight Marcos Maidana on May 3 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas . While that would have boosted Mayweather’s pay-per-view revenue, Khan nursed serious doubts that he would be Floyd Jnr’s next Chosen One come September, win or lose against Broner. After all, one promise had already been broken. So Khan, having lost almost a year waiting for God in gloves, will go his own way this spring. Perhaps as early as this week, he will name a comeback opponent and a date. That will not be Kell Brook in the UK, either, since that would not improve his chances of ever fighting Mayweather. Khan is looking for a marquee win in America. Mayweather, meanwhile, continues to exercise his box-office power over his sport. In the pipeline: Amir Khan is looking for a marquee win in America, not a British showdown with Kell Brook . Does what he wants: Mayweather ignored his own poll about who to fight next . That privilege has been hard won but by hand-picking the likes of Maidana – whose rough-hewn style is likely to suit him – he risks accusations of evading rivals who might have the speed to pose a different problem. ‘I don’t duck anyone,’ says Mayweather. Personally, since he is the best in the world and knows it, I believe him. But we are approaching the point where he may have to prove it. If, next month, Manny Pacquiao avenges that scandalous decision given to Tim Bradley the pressure will crank up yet again for the long-deferred super-fight between the PacMan and the Money Man. Mayweather, having instigated his . Twitter poll asking fans to vote whether he should fight Khan or . Maidana, then ignored the result. But at some point, for credibility’s sake, he may have to let the public choose his opponent for him. Different paths: Khan rejected the chance to fight on Adrien Broner on Mayweather's undercard . Warrior: Maidana pushed Khan all the way when they fought in Las Vegas in 2010 . The Cinammon Kid made a tasty comeback at the weekend. Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez served up a timely reminder that no boxer should be consigned to the slops bucket just because he loses the odd fight. What matters is how he responds to that setback when he returns to the ring. Back with a bang: Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez beat Alfredo Angulo on Saturday in Las Vegas . Alvarez, having been bewildered last September by Floyd Mayweather’s most recent master class, resurfaced in Las Vegas with a dynamic performance against a fellow Mexican considered so dangerous that he revels in the nickname El Perro – The Dog. Alfredo Angulo never got close to putting the bite on Canelo, despite a couple of quibbles nagging at the event. In an echo of Froch-Groves 1, the referee was booed for a tenth round stoppage which many in the crowd at the MGM Grand Garden arena deemed premature. Just as the British Boxing Board of Control backed their official Howard Foster, so the Nevada State Athletic Commission is defending Tony Weeks. Although Alvarez was well behind on the cards, in contrast to George Groves who was leading Carl Froch, the argument was similar: Do we want one punch too few, or one punch too many? It is a fine line which the referees have to tread but, in principle, better to stop it a mite early than end up in hospital later that night. Less acceptable was Canelo’s failure to make the light-middleweight limit. He said he could have squeezed off the extra poundage had it been a title fight but really that only made it more cynical. Too many boxers are hitting the scales too heavy these days and that in itself hints at another medical risk. Rather than dehydrate to make the weight, shouldn’t they be moving up to a more natural division? The consolation for Angulo was that he picked up an extra $100,000 deducted from the Alvarez purse. Nevertheless, Canelo made a statement as important for boxing as for himself. Most champions are defined by how they come back from losing their titles. The great boxers of the past, with such rare exceptions as Rocky Marciano and Joe Calzaghe, had defeats on their records, Muhammad Ali , Joe Louis and the two Sugar Rays, Robinson and Leonard, among them. Response: Alvarez bounced back from his disappointing loss to Mayweather by beating Angulo . Yet of late it has become a crime to lose a fight. That misconception keeps growing the longer Mayweather - 45-0 and counting - goes without suffering his first defeat. Canelo, fully restored now to world title contention, has dished up a powerful defence against that nonsense. Expect Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan to do the same, shortly. Carl Frampton – anointed by his coach the great Barry McGuigan as his successor to the throne of Ulster boxing – has been given added incentive to win his world title eliminator against Hugo Cazares in Belfast next month. Leo Santa Cruz, after impressively retaining his WBC super-bantamweight crown against former champion Cristian Mijares in Las Vegas on Saturday night, pronounced himself eager to do the same against Frampton. That would appear to put Frampton just one victory away from his first world title bid, possibly at a sold-out stadium in Belfast in September. If so, it should be an Irish cracker. Clash: Carl Frampton (left) could be just one fight away from a crack at WBC champion Leo Santa Cruz (right) When Muhammad Ali came to Newcastle in 1977 he struck up a friendship with a Geordie fan which endures to this day. The Greatest never forgot the courtesy and attention he received from Russell Routledge when he visited Tyneside to have his marriage to former wife Veronica blessed at a local mosque. The pair kept in touch and three years later Ali not only invited Routledge to meet him in Los Angeles but invited him to stay at his mansion. Ovation: Former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali touches down in Newcastle in 1977 . Geordie nation: A young admirer gives Ali a kiss on his arrival in Newcastle . Much more recently, Routledge travelled from Newcastle to be a guest at Ali’s 70th birthday dinner in Louisville. That relationship offers a touching insight into the caring side of Ali’s nature and now Routledge has put pen to paper for a new book. By his own admission, Routledge is not a writer but this memoir adds a different dimension to the Ali story and is worth the read. *Muhammad Ali – Tyneside 1977. Amberley, £12.99.
fighting Mayweather. Khan is looking for a for a marquee win in America, not a British Mayweather ignored his own poll about who to whether he should fight Khan or . Maidana, then Khan rejected the chance to fight on Adrien to the ring. Back with a bang: Saul 'Canelo' could be just one fight away from a crack at WBC