Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
Junior welterweight titleholders Amir Khan and Zab Judah will meet to unify their belts in one of the biggest fights of the summer on July 23 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Judah promoter Kathy Duva of Main Events told ESPN.com.
Check what Zab had to say after the jump…
The bout will headline HBO’s “World Championship Boxing,” the second fight of a four-fight deal Khan signed with the network before his April 16 victory against Paul McCloskey.
Duva said she made a deal with Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer, Khan’s promoter, on Tuesday morning, a little more than a week after titleholder Timothy Bradley turned his back on a career-high payday of at least $1.4 million to face Khan.
The fight with Bradley was the one Khan really wanted, and the fight HBO was hoping for. But when Bradley stunningly rejected a 50-50 deal — including half of the money generated from the television rights in Khan’s native England — attention turned elsewhere.
Schaefer offered the fight to resurgent former three-division champion Erik Morales, who works with Golden Boy, but he rejected the fight. That left Judah, a big name and owner of a world title, as the obvious choice. “We’ve agreed on the terms and the contracts are being drawn,” Duva said.
WRITTEN BY Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter @danrafaelespn & FULL STORY HERE
