Amir Khan

Eighteen year old light welterweight sensation Amir Khan is Britain’s future hope for boxing world domination. The Bolton, Lancashire born Khan was a highly decorated amateur who possess world-class speed, solid boxing fundamentals and appears to carry a punch even though he has yet to acquire his “man strength”. The only thing missing is whether or not Amir has a chin. That, like every other high profile

Click for larger image © Mike Cleary

prospect out there, will not been known until much later as, right now Khan is in the “baby steps” of a professional career and facing non-descript competition. The questions that also looms, because of who represents Amir, is how long will he face non-descript competition before having a career defining fight?

Frank Warren, who manages the young British charge, has built a reputation as someone who does not take risks with his fighters. Cases in point are his two highest profile world-class pugilists, Joe Calzaghe and Rick Hatton. The latter has recently proven his worth against the top-dog of the deepest division in boxing. The problem is that it took Warren eight years, and a demand from Ricky himself, to allow Hatton into such a risky fight as the Tsyzu bout. The fight was a great achievement for the Stockport born Hatton and the entire British contingent who, for years, kept insisting that their man was as good, if not better, than any other 140-pound fighter in the world. Now, the “Hitman” has decided to take his business elsewhere leaving Frank for a rival British promoter. I guess even Ricky was not willing to wait another eight years to get a second meaningful fight.

As for Calzaghe, his “limelight” fight is yet to come. Joe remains a dominate champion but is a disrespected champion by most of the fans outside of Britain. After besting Chris Eubank for the WBO super middleweight title in 1997, Calzaghe has gone on to reign over his WBO domain for eight years, notching sixteen title defenses. The problem is that his defenses have been against, at best, B/C-level caliber fighters, and he has yet to face a world-class opponent. There is a proposed bout with Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy, whom, if that fight is made, would represent Calzaghe’s toughest test and will be the first fight in which Joe would be in with an opponent who may be favored to win. For years now, his countrymen have also proclaimed that Calzaghe is the best 168-pounder in the world, and a win over Lacy would legitimize his entire eight year reign and cement Joe as the best super middleweight of his era. We can just hope that the fight is signed, sealed, and delivered to the fans as the Brits deserve to find out if they have been right about their charge and have waited long enough to find out.

Knowing the history of Warren, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that we may need to wait eight years, if not longer, to find out if Amir Khan is truly boxing’s future conqueror. That would make Amir twenty-six years old and, according to the young, likable lad himself, put him at the end of his career as Amir has stated that he does not plan to stay in the sport past twenty-seven years old. Also, that would lead to even more harsh criticism from the boxing public, and media alike, something that I am sure British fans are not looking forward to. Oh well, as I always say: “Such is life, and life is boxing!”

Contact Sergio Martinez at srg_mrtnz@yahoo.com