Can Khan vs. Garcia Bring Boxing Back From Scandal?

Amir Khan takes on Danny Garcia on the 14th July at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas for the WBA and WBC light welter titles.

Prior to this fight, there has been a lot of controversy because Khan was supposed to be fighting Lamont Peterson in a highly anticipated rematch but it fell through because Peterson was reportedly linked to a performance enhancing substance.

This rematch had the potential to be another outstanding clash, the first fight was one of my favourites of 2011 and I had Khan winning by a round, but it could have gone either way.

The fight itself had scandals with the referee and the mystery man ring side, the boxing world was really ready to see the rematch to sort out the shit that had happened that night. I was very excited to see Khan back in with Peterson, in the first fight when Khan was boxing and using his speed Peterson had no chance.

Khan is a highly talented fighter and when he boxes clever he will cause problems for any fighter from 140-147 pounds. I think Khan really was ready for the rematch against Peterson, I feel very bad for him that it fell through due to the circumstances with the referee and the mystery man ring side.

Khan trained hard for the rematch and was ready to go and the whole boxing world got stung when we heard the news that Peterson, who had initially asked for VADA style testing, got caught out.

I was shocked and gutted about the news because I thought Khan was really ready to settle the score with Peterson, whose victory is no doubt tainted now. I do not respect Peterson anymore for this happening and it’s a great shame to the boxing world that it has happened.

Peterson has ruined his image and in my opinion put a dent in the sport, as has another great American fighter, Andre Berto, who also got caught out when he was supposed to have a rematch with Victor Ortiz.

Two great talents in the sport within such a short period of time have possibly ruined their careers by doing this and they have drawn attention to the sport worldwide in a negative way.

Similarly, other controversial incidents have gone down in boxing recently with the Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley outcome, it has put the spotlight on what has been perceived by many as corruption within the sport and it’s certainly a grey area which in my opinion needs attention.

Although the Pacquiao vs. Bradley fight was a bit closer than I first anticipated, I just don’t see how anybody could have had Bradley winning the fight. I don’t understand what the judges were seeing and I think a lot of people have really been put off boxing with that fight and are questioning what really is going on behind the scenes.

It’s a shame because Pacquiao’s image is taking a beating with performances like this and circumstances out of the ring, it’s really horrible to watch this unfolding as a Pacquiao fan because I just feel something bad is going to happen to him soon, whether that be a bad loss or him getting caught out.

Who knows, Pacquiao was not looking as muscular against Bradley and he looked tired towards the end, is this a sign? We will wait and see what unfolds in the near future.

Also domestically, Larry Olubamiwo has reportedly been caught out, linked to banned substances too and he reportedly stated that all of our favourite fighters have been or are using PEDS and we don’t know who they are.

As a boxing fan, this is something that you do not want to hear from as the sport is getting a lot of negative publicity because of all of these incidents occurring. It does show that the sport does need cleaning up.

Possible corruption and reported PED’s scandals are really putting out the wrong image to people who are following boxing recently and that is really sad to see.

Boxing is such a great sport but I do feel that it does need change with things like this happening; hopefully it will because I do not want to see any more controversy happening in boxing and it’s not something that I want to spend my time writing about.

On a more positive note, Amir Khan is facing Danny Garcia, which I believe is going to be a great fight. I haven’t seen too much of Garcia, but I did watch him against Morales and I thought that was a great fight.

It was was experience against youth and in the end Garcia came through and won the fight. I thought Morales put on a good performance but I did think Garcia did enough to win the fight, he’s young and hungry and he demonstrated that against Morales. Garcia can take a lot of positives from that fight and he can go into the Khan bout with a good battle behind him as he is ready to step it up again against Khan.

Amir Khan has been training for a very long time and has been prepared for a big fight. I think Khan had a lot to prove against Peterson and with all of the controversy I believe he is going to need to put on a world class performance against Garcia to move forward with his career.

The 147 pound weight class is on the horizon for Khan. Timothy Bradley and Floyd Mayweather Jr, I feel, are within touching distance for Khan and he needs to show the boxing world again that he is the real deal.

Garcia will push Khan though; he is undefeated, hungry and game for fighting with Khan. Garcia does bring talent to the ring and this is a great match 140 pound match up, Garcia is one of the best fighters in the weight class and I think this was the best match up Khan could have taken at 140.

This is why Khan is going to have to put on a world class performance if he wants to have his mega showdowns with the elite of the boxing world.

I feel that Khan will be a bit too much for Garcia at this stage of the American’s career. I think Khan has the potential to be the best fighter in the world if he uses his boxing mind, which he has shown us before.

If he boxes clever, the openings will come against a young Garcia and I think Khan will take him out late in the fight. I think Garcia will hold his own against Khan, but when Khan picks up the pace I just think Khan will be too much for Garcia right now.

I respect Garcia for fighting Khan, because this is a massive challenge for him. He will have to really shock the boxing world if he is to beat Khan in my opinion. I think he will make it a good fight, but Khan is going places and with the Peterson disappointment, Khan has a lot to show us on July 14th.

I can’t wait to see Khan back in the ring, with a lot of negative things happening in boxing at the moment I really want Khan to put his name back on the radar again for the right reasons, and I am sure that he will.

I think Khan wins this and moves up to 147. I would like to see Khan fight a named fighter at welter and then go for Bradley. I really do not like Bradley’s attitude of late with all of the Pacquiao drama. I think he should fight Khan soon, and I personally think Khan will be too quick for Bradley and Khan would win a close UD. Hopefully it happens, we will see.

Good luck to Amir Khan though, I hope he pulls through this test and we will see more of him in the future. I also hope the PEDS issue is looked at because this really is putting a negative image on boxing, we shall see soon though.