Ok, I'm going to step into this whole race issue, although I before I will say there have been some very good & interesting answers to my question.
In my opinion there is no doubt that some of the hatred towards Khan comes from his race, in some people at least sub-consciously. I've seen a number of people who will get fervently behind any other British fighter going, yet seem to have real disdain for Khan.
However, there are obviously other reasons that play into it that I won't deny such as the PPV deal (which really pissed me off), the talk of taking on Mayweather, Hatton, Pacquiao etc when he still hadn't won anything other than a Commonwealth title, the hype that Warren & the media created round him by virtue of him being a medal winner.
The comparison with Naz has never helped him IMO, because he will never be the same type of fighter & he is nowhere near the cock Naz is. However, this was chiefly created by the media & happily encouraged by those around Khan, the same people who pushed for the PPV deal, principally Asif Valli & Khan's father. They probably thought it was a good idea looking more at Naz' success as a boxer rather than his antics that pissed a lot of people off.
Anyway back to the race issue, & one thing is clear & anyone who read any of the comments sections on British Sports websites after Prescott knocked him out will see that for a number of people his race was a big factor in their dislike. Comments like 'pakistanis are not genetically suited to sports' & 'least he can go back to managing a cornershop' are clearly racist, & these were the ones that weren't immediately deleted by the mods. It has not reached stuff like that on Saddo's thankfully, but I would be lying if I said I hadn't seen stuff that I consider racist on this forum although not necessarily about Amir Khan.
Fenster, I think you are being a bit naive if you don't think that people in London can be openly racist, being an ethnic minority born & raised here I can assure you they very easily can. I remember playing a casual boxing fan on my local football team saying he didn't like Khan because he was 'too big for his own boots'. Maybe being mixed-race I do tend to read more or analyse what people say in a way others might not, but I have definitely heard & read things about Khan that I consider racist. I would also say Fenster that you should take it as a good sign you don't know anyone who's racist about Khan, it just means you keep good company
Missy, I think the support of Khan is more down to identification. Generally people will choose to support a fighter due to either liking their fighting style or because they identify with them on some level. Young, Asian men choosing to support Khan is no different than the young white men (not always big boxing fans) who go out to Las Vegas to support Ricky Hatton, neither bothers me, I would just like it if they would make the effort to know more about the sport in general. I will tell you something else, very few black or Asian people will tell you that you're a racist if you choose to support a white fighter, because there is nothing wrong with it. William Dettloff did a really good article on it online just before the Pavlik-Hopkins fight. I will be honest enough to say that if a black fighter is up against white fighter, & I have no allegiance to either, then I will root for the black guy more. If a white person did the same the other way round it wouldn't be racist, at least no more than me doing it. The Pac-fans don't bother me for their support of Pac, only for their lack of general boxing knowledge.
Sanchez, as you can see above I don't think racism is non-existent here, however suggesting that there cannot be any other reasons to dislike Amir Khan is wrong, and yes whilst I agree that those factors have played some part, the posters here deserve better than being called racists simply on the basis of the Warren factor. If these same posters are singing Frankie Gavin's praises IF he has 20 fights under Warren you will have a point, but until then you simply don't.
I will reiterate though that I feel like some others that Khan's race (& his religion in the current climate) do play a role in the dislike that SOME have for him. He is nowhere near as cocky as other British boxers (Froch, Witter) & yes the hype is irritating but its not his fault, & I'd like to think that if he does beat Barrera than some will start to cut him a bit more slack (also as a final point MAB is a legend who deserves all the support he will get here in a months time). Let's all look forward to a good fight

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