Amir Khan's chin

[Silkeyjoe]

I thought I'd bring this up as people (including myself) have banged on about how poor Khan's chin is but at 140, Garcia is the only guy who has been able to crack it and Khan has been in with some top notch opposition at 140. It isn't the best chin but people make out like it is one of the worst in boxing when the truth is that there are plenty who have a worse chin who don't get anywhere near as bad a reputation for it. Do you think people exaggerate how bad it is or do you think their argument is fully justified?

I agree that it's exaggerated. His issue is that he has absolutely no recovery when he gets caught bad.

If Amir had stayed undefeated, he wouldn't be the draw that he is, simpley because he'd of stayed careful to stay undefeated.

Prescott was a bad match up for khan, Prescott is a big puncher plus he's taller with a bigger reach. Prescott isn't the most skilful, he has the power to stop fights with a single punch.

Peterson fight was a joke, I still had khan well up after the point deductions.

And Garcia was being out classed with ease until khan engaged in a brawl that Garcia was always going to win.


Khan is as exciting as he is because he goes into territory that can cost him a loss, when in my book he really doesn't have to, he would have beat Garcia had he stayed careful, but the fight would have probably stunk up the place.

Mayweather can do this. Is this the main difference between the 2? Mayweather obviously has a better chin tho

[Vendettos]

I thought I'd bring this up as people (including myself) have banged on about how poor Khan's chin is but at 140, Garcia is the only guy who has been able to crack it and Khan has been in with some top notch opposition at 140. It isn't the best chin but people make out like it is one of the worst in boxing when the truth is that there are plenty who have a worse chin who don't get anywhere near as bad a reputation for it. Do you think people exaggerate how bad it is or do you think their argument is fully justified?

I agree that it's exaggerated. His issue is that he has absolutely no recovery when he gets caught bad.

If Amir had stayed undefeated, he wouldn't be the draw that he is, simpley because he'd of stayed careful to stay undefeated.

Prescott was a bad match up for khan, Prescott is a big puncher plus he's taller with a bigger reach. Prescott isn't the most skilful, he has the power to stop fights with a single punch.

Peterson fight was a joke, I still had khan well up after the point deductions.

And Garcia was being out classed with ease until khan engaged in a brawl that Garcia was always going to win.


Khan is as exciting as he is because he goes into territory that can cost him a loss, when in my book he really doesn't have to, he would have beat Garcia had he stayed careful, but the fight would have probably stunk up the place.

Mayweather can do this. Is this the main difference between the 2? Mayweather obviously has a better chin tho

I dunno about his chin, but I never watch Mayweather fights now, they are far too boring.

How he sells so much on ppv is beyond me.

[ykdadamaja]

People forget Khan was rocked at lightweight...

I give Amir respect for stopping Judah... well, controversially.

[Vendettos]

People forget Khan was rocked at lightweight...

I give Amir respect for stopping Judah... well, controversially.

He wasn't rocked, he was knocked out.

[rosco1984]

Av warmed to khan recently.think he's a gd fighter and exciting to watch just some times his arrogance is really fucking annoying.regarding his chIn he's defo chinny he's tried to prove otherwise over recent years since the presscot fight and paid the price against Garcia.there's also proof ov this when he fought willie limmond when he got about a minute to recover and he was down against Gomez aswell albeit early in his career.

[Dia bando]

Khan is one of them fighters, that you no is vulnerable which in turn makes him entertaining
to watch.! He can out box just about anybody, but when he gets hit on that chin his legs turn
to jelly, he doe's his little chicken dance then it's do or die.!
So is he a bad fighter NO, just a bit vulnerable that's all.

[Teas]

After watching tonight's fight, it shows khan has no chin, but plenty of heart. Why can't he just fight on the outside with his speed and movement? Would make his fights do much easier for himself

[ykdadamaja]

After watching tonight's fight, it shows khan has no chin, but plenty of heart. Why can't he just fight on the outside with his speed and movement? Would make his fights do much easier for himself

Yup. He should just stay on the outside, run and counter-punch. That's his style and THEE style for chinny guys!

[KickMuck]

I have come to the decision after watching Amir fight again that his timing is his problem offensively and defensive. So many time's he juts forward and throws a left or two then follows up with a right then another left ...over and over again and its so predictable ...he does this in all his fights and for opponents who can get past the speed of it, its easy to work him out and counter
If Khan used his speed to his advantage and picked shots in an unpredictable manner and back off then wait for the next opportunity bob in and out, not get carried away he would be lethal, If he went into a fight to win on points he would..easy.. But he chooses to hang..Its as though he is a fighter gifted with speed and agility but ends up getting into an unnecessary brawl.
He also never feints..If he faints and learns to do it properly he would be more effective , he never seems to do it...with the speed he can punch using feints he could have opposition on edge big time ..Doesn't do it ..why?

I think Freddie saw Khan and thought 'with the right training this guy could be Dynamite'...

But Amir doesn't listen. In fact he still fights like he did when he first went pro

[ono]

I actually think he should just go back to Oliver Harrison and just fight as he did when he was younger. He had better offensive timing. His defence will never improve because his balance is so poor anyway. Exciting fighter but his offensive game isn't what it was.

[Fenster]

Khan's had four trainers during his pro career. Oliver Harrison, Jorge Rubio, Freddie Roach and Virgil Hunter. He's been on the deck with all of them.

Same old same old.

[boyla]

What chin?

[IamInuit]

I really don't think its Khans chin but rather his brain. Its the whenhe gets hit not the where. As mentioned he has taken bombs but its when things are not going his way and the opponent takes his big shots where he starts to mentally unravel. Standing straight up and moving straight back hands low or stepping into the booth when there is no need to.

[Master]

I really don't think its Khans chin but rather his brain. Its the whenhe gets hit not the where. As mentioned he has taken bombs but its when things are not going his way and the opponent takes his big shots where he starts to mentally unravel. Standing straight up and moving straight back hands low or stepping into the booth when there is no need to.

That's sounds a lot like Bruno.

[SRR]

I thought I'd bring this up as people (including myself) have banged on about how poor Khan's chin is but at 140, Garcia is the only guy who has been able to crack it and Khan has been in with some top notch opposition at 140. It isn't the best chin but people make out like it is one of the worst in boxing when the truth is that there are plenty who have a worse chin who don't get anywhere near as bad a reputation for it. Do you think people exaggerate how bad it is or do you think their argument is fully justified?

I agree that it's exaggerated. His issue is that he has absolutely no recovery when he gets caught bad.

If Amir had stayed undefeated, he wouldn't be the draw that he is, simpley because he'd of stayed careful to stay undefeated.

Prescott was a bad match up for khan, Prescott is a big puncher plus he's taller with a bigger reach. Prescott isn't the most skilful, he has the power to stop fights with a single punch.

Peterson fight was a joke, I still had khan well up after the point deductions.

And Garcia was being out classed with ease until khan engaged in a brawl that Garcia was always going to win.


Khan is as exciting as he is because he goes into territory that can cost him a loss, when in my book he really doesn't have to, he would have beat Garcia had he stayed careful, but the fight would have probably stunk up the place.

Mayweather can do this. Is this the main difference between the 2? Mayweather obviously has a better chin tho

Not really. If you watch the Mosely fight you can observe that after getting rocked Mayweather recovered super fast, holding and smothering whilst he cleared his head and then going on the offensive and punishing Mosely for the rest of the fight. Khan can't do this because he only really knows one way to fight. For me he is a classic amateur boxer who is still struggling to adapt his style to the pros - he doesn't know how to attack intelligently and doesn't really counter - I mean when have we ever seen him pull back or sway away from a punch and turn an opponent's momentum against them with a sharp counter? He doesn't, he just pops off one twos from the outside, then if he ever gets in close it's only under a flurry of punches which you can't help but think as a spectator is as much to protect himself from a counter as it is to hurt his opponent. Once that flurry is over he's back to the outside, unless the guy makes the mistake of stepping back in the interim, in which case he steps forward and tries to unload again, which usually leads to him overreaching and getting caught, at which point he then retreats - but once he's backpedalling he's really vulnerable, because he has no lateral movement going backwards (and barely any going forward) and very little upper body movement.

Also, although his combinations are great for scoring points they often lack venom - he has the rigidity in his upper body when he lets his hands go as if he's trying to knock someone out but the punches have little power (he barely ever activates his hips so even though his feet are fixed none of the power is transmitted up the torso, so he's often only using his arms and shoulders to generate force) and rather than searching for and creating openings before capitalising on them with heavy shots he just peppers people even when they are covering with their gloves and he has the opportunity to go downstairs and set up that one hurtful shot that will make the difference. The problem with such rigidity, particularly combined with linear foot movement is that it denies you the angles you need to tease open a tight defence (solicited by speed) and it also takes away any potential fluidity so although Khan's punches are quick enough that they'll push a guy back they're far too predictable and staccato to make a dent in any serious fighter.

After a few rounds of watching Khan do this most guys will then time him, step back and create the distance they need for a solid hook which Khan just seems oblivious to - does anyone remember watching Khan sparring in the lead up to Garcia and seeing him get tagged and wobbled by a left hook (with head gear in mind). I remember thinking then that Garcia was gonna catch him with that shot at some point and hurt him, and then it would just be a matter of whether or not he would be able to finish him. Roach wasn't in the gym at that point but anyone watching that, even without knowledge of boxing, would have told him to either move to his left and throw a straight right, duck under it or raise his right hand and throw a left followed by a right. I'm pretty sure whoever was there with him mentioned it and he just ignored them. Now Hunter is trying to babysit him but the fact is only one man can make those adjustments, only one man should take responsibility for them (and I'm sorry but you don't need a trainer to tell you this stuff all the time - yes they're there to help you hone your craft, but they're there to supplement your own self-analysis - it's ok to follow dictation as a child and young man but at his age Khan has had more than a decade of experience and should be looking to refine his craft not just with the aid of a trainer but on his own time) and be accountable but the truth is that he is still in denial over the same flaws in his defence that saw him blown out by Prescott. He had the chance then to honestly assess his strengths and weaknesses and go all out to make the right changes but he didn't, he just decided it was better to delegate the responsibility to a star trainer, and then when he got found out again he blamed Roach.

He's got many of the attributes required to be a great boxer but unfortunately they have been cultivated in a very short-sighted fashion which has done his career serious damage in the long term. And let's be honest, Khan's last two fights were supposed to be easy wins for him to reestablish himself as a force in the division but all it has really confirmed is that he just doesn't have it at the highest level. He's that very unfortunate case - he has the skills, and even the will, but not the intelligence or ring IQ to properly utilise them. The way he has cried about Roach not being proactive enough with his training and praised Virgil for shouting instructions to him constantly is an indication of this problem - he needs someone to hold his hand and tell him how to fight cos' he can't make those decisions for himself, and I'm inclined to say that at 26 he never will. Perhaps if Hunter had had him from a boy, the story would be different, but changing Khan's attitude and style in the ring now is like re-coding someone's martial DNA. Honestly, to come back off my tangent, I don't think Khan's chin is that bad - if you get hit on the button with a great shot you'll go, regardless of who you are. It's the naive way he leaves himself open to power shots and his complete lack of ring savvy when it comes to minimising the impact of those blows in terms of using upper body movement and defensive footwork that make him appear so chinny.