Boxing

Khan, Broner face big fights on Mayweather undercard

LAS VEGAS — They’re on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather’s WBC welterweight championship defense against Marcos Maidana, but there will be plenty of pressure on Amir Khan and Adrien Broner when they fight in separate bouts Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The addition of former champions Khan of England (28-3, 19 KOs) and Broner of Cincinnati (27-1, 22 KOs) on the undercard should help with pay-per-view sales. Each needs a victory to keep alive his quest to headline in his own pay-per-view main event in the future.

Broner, a former three-division champion, looks to rebound after suffering his first loss against Maidana last December. He will face Carlos Molina (17-1-1, 7 KOs) of Norwalk, Calif., in a super lightweight bout scheduled for 10 rounds. Khan, a former 140-champion, takes on former welterweight champion Luis Collazo (35-5, 18 KOs) of Brooklyn for the WBC Silver welterweight title.

A 10-round super middleweight bout pitting J’Leon Love of Las Vegas (17-0, 10 KOs) against Marco Periban of Mexico City (20-1-1, 13 KOs) completes the four televised bouts.

“We’re about giving the fans more bang for their buck,” said Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions. “At the end of the day, the fans are spending their hard-earned money, and we want to give them value for their money. Floyd’s making a statement. This is the most expensive undercard to date and he’s letting his money do the talking.”

Khan will be moving up to 147 pounds to fight as a welterweight for the first time. He had hoped to be Mayweather’s opponent Saturday night, but opted to fight Collazo after Mayweather decided to take on Maidana. Khan hasn’t fought since April 2013 when he outpointed Julio Diaz in Sheffield, England.

“Even though I haven’t been in the ring for the last 12 months, we’ve been in the gym for the last eight months working on strategies,” said Khan, trained by Virgil Hunter. “I’ve been working on my footwork and my movement, so you’ll definitely see a different Amir Khan coming into this fight.”
Collazo looks to make another statement after stopping Victor Ortiz in the second round of their bout last January at Barclays Center.

“When that bell rings you’re going to see the best Luis Collazo you’ve ever seen,” Collazo told Khan during a press conference Thursday at the MGM Grand. “I want to give the fight fans, what they want, some excitement. It’s going to be an explosive night.”

Broner was loud, flashy and sometimes vulgar before being dropped by Maidana twice and losing his first fight.

He tried to maintain his bravado on Thursday.

“I come to do damage,” he said. “I’m back on my A-game.”

But that will have to be proven in the ring against Molina.

Broner said the loss to Maidana forced him to reflect on his career.

“I’m thankful God slowed me down and showed me what He gave to me He can take it away at any time,” Broner said. “But at the end of the day, I’m still a three-time world champion in three different weight classes. I’m still the same flash and hungry young man. I’m a main-event fighter.”
He will get a chance to prove it Saturday.