Was Khan ever considered number one?

This exactly. I've retrospectively changed my mind.

Had khan beaten peterson with more ease than bradley did it would have underlined his promotion to the top.

Beating judah created a 1a-1b situation with many giving khan the edge based on the duck.

The loss to peterson has changed that and now the dust has settled it's much easier to evaluate.

Ironically enough if bradley is perceived to have left the division, the peterson - khan 2 fight could be for the top spot.

 

Judah win wasn't anything special, Judah won a vacant title against average Mabuza and if it wasn't for that wouldn't have even been an opponent for Khan. Bradley's 2 best wins are Peterson and Alexander. Khan's 2 best wins are Maidana and Kotelnik IMO.

Bradley is the best at 140 as he hasn't lost. (and beat the man who beat Khan)

I actually think that whoever wins between Khan and Peterson will move up to 147, maybe both. Could be in a position where last years top 5 Lww (Bradley,Khan,Maidana,Peterson and Alexander) could be all fighting at WW in 2012.

 

The Ring and ESPN USA had him No.1, so yes Khan was No.1

 

ESPN use The RING rankings as a reference point. The RING is owned by Golden Boy Promotions - who happened to believe they had an agreement with Gary Shaw for Bradley/Khan, only to discover Bradley was ditching Shaw for Top Rank. If you choose to believe that The RING rankings aren't influenced by Golden Boy Promotions and are authoritative on who should be ranked and where, fair dues. I don't on either account.

 

Before Khan-Peterson Khan had an impressive run and Bradley lack of activity lead to Khan moving into No.1, it's how people see it of course, Bradley did not want to risk facing Khan in case he lost his 0 and lose his money shot at Pacman or Floyd.

Khan was/is willing to face Anyone at 140.

 

Or because his contract was up and he had the chance to get out of it?

 

If it was as simple as that, then there wouldn't have been complications that made him sit idle for almost the remainder of the year. It's a fact that Bradley promised the Khan fight to the public, HBO, and most importantly, to Shaw. Only when the Pacquiao fight became a possibility, did he change his mind. I mean, he even admitted to doing what he did, to remain undefeated. If that's not a duck - you know, not fighting someone just in case you lose to him - then I don't know what is.

I'm 100% certain that if his name was never mentioned alongside Pacquiao's by Arum, he would have at least stuck with Shaw to honour the Khan fight.

 

I had him ahead of Bradley just before Peterson.

 

If he had taken on Khan and beaten him, he'd have made $2M for that fight. Then he'd probably be making an additional $2M for the Pacquiao fight.
Yet Bradley fans insist he would whipped Khan and is so clever.....

 

Bradley did not have a "lack of activity" while Khan "had a massive run". Bradley defeated Devon Alexander in January 2011. Not long before their bout Alexander was oddly dumped from #2 to #3 in The RING rankings. I'm sure that had nothing to do with Golden Boy expecting Khan getting a fight with the winner and therefore him being #2 ensuring it would be for the vacant RING World Title.

Who was Khan's massive run against after Bradley/Alexander? Paul McCloskey? Zab Judah? McCloskey hasn't shown himself to be world class, and Khan beat Zab Judah in 2011 - not 2005.

Except he wouldn't have gotten the Pacquiao fight. Taking the Khan fight meant extending his promotional agreement with Gary Shaw - and Top Rank don't co-promote when it comes to Manny. He got paid $1mil to face Casamayor, and has secured a guaranteed $5mil pay day for the Pacquiao fight.

How the hell that's "not so clever" is beyond me.

 

By most people who were wrong.

:deal

 

People are getting it wrong. It wasn't so much Khan's wins that supposedly propelled him in front of Bradley, it was Bradley's inactivity at the weight. He had ONE fight at 140 pounds in 2 years.

 

Although I didn't agree I've no problem with that argument Laz or that, at a stretch, the Judah, Kotelnik, Maidana wins were good enough to get Khan the number 1 spot.

But (IIRC!) the "ducking" thing was the main argument a lot of people put forward.

 

True. But it's absolutely evident looking at Kons performance vs Lamont that Bradley with the style he has would have UD'd the living **** out of him.

 

Wrong. He did NOT have to extend his contract with Shaw in order to fight Khan.
Are you telling me the deal he would not have had a better deal from TR if he had beaten Khan?