IN THE IMMEDIATE aftermath of North Philadelphia’s Danny Garcia winning the WBC super lightweight title in March, his promoters talked of Garcia’s desire to unify the titles. That chance might come sooner than expected, depending on a ruling from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
As of now, Garcia will make his first WBC title defense when he faces Amir Khan on July 14 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. A news conference is scheduled for Monday in Los Angeles to announce the bout.
Khan (26-2, 18 KOs) is hoping to have regained the WBA and IBF belts by the time he faces Garcia. Khan lost the belts to Lamont Peterson in a controversial split-decision in December. A May 19 rematch was canceled when Peterson tested positive for synthetic testerone from a sample taken in April. Peterson is scheduled to appeal the test before the Nevada commission on June 13.
Khan’s camp is hoping the commission will deem the December bout a no contest. The commission and sanctioning bodies could then strip Peterson of the titles and either return them to Khan or declare them vacant. At that point, all three belts and the Ring magazine belt could be at stake in Garcia-Khan.
"The more the better for Amir, because it makes the fight bigger," Khan’s business manager, Asif Vali, told Britain’s Daily Mirror, adding there is a "very strong chance" all the belts will be at stake.
The verbal fireworks for the fight have begun. Angel Garcia, Danny’s father, told RingTV, "Khan is a nobody ... He’s an overrated fighter. Khan will be looking up at the lights upside down."
Garcia (23-0, 14 KOs) won the title in March when he beat Erik Morales, who failed to make weight and was stripped of the belt. Garcia still needed to win the fight to claim his first world championship.
