Khan potential for greatness... or disaster

[ICB]

He will never ever be great, he's good fighter but he has too many flaws. And there's too many good fighters around him at the moment, i can't see him beating Timothy Bradley nor can i see him beating the top boys at Welterweight.

He will have an exciting career and will probably win, another world title in another weightclass at some point.

He showed good heart and better survival skills, but i've always thought he had heart and decent survival skills. Its just he got caught cold vs Breidis Prescott.

And to be honest he should of had an easier time vs Marcos Maidana, because he is very limited. But as i said before its a step in the right direction for Amir Khan. But his defense is still very leaky.

And he should stick to the gameplan of boxing, and not being macho and trying to trade, because that attitude will get him KO'ed.

He got hit far too much, i mean for all his speed. He's quite easy to tag which is suprising. Even Marcos Maidana's wide slow shots hit the target too many times.

But all in all its good to step him finally step up, lets hope thats a taster for things to come.

That's only an opinion though, and not backed up by any facts. Nobody has ever had an easy time with him. According to many he should have been undefeated coming to the fight with Khan.

He might be like Carl Froch, in the way that everyone has been saying for years 'Of course when he fights an elite fighter he will get picked apart and exposed the crude slugger he is.'. Well after fights against Pascal, Taylor, Dirrell, Kessler and Abraham nobody has had an easy night's work with him yet. I think Maidana may well be like that, you see his flaws and so presume the tops guys should have an easy nights work with him, but it may well not work out like that.

That's a great point. A lot of people get blinded by superlative skills, and forget that that is not the sum total of a successful boxer. Maidana is a prime example - he gets by with almost no skill to speak of. He fights with power and heart, a slow plodding style that should be a breeze to pick apart. Yet he gets in there and proves a tough night's work for the highest level of competition.

Boxing history is chock full of fighters who defied the assumption that skill always wins.

Exactly, when it came to boxing skills Amir DID handle him easily and was quickly piling up the points in the early rounds. But Maidana's heart, endurance, toughness and ability to absorb punishment are simply outstanding. He absolutely has a world class chin and toughness.

What I cannot understand from Ice though is that he is big on Lucian Bute despite first time around getting completely smashed in the last round by Librado Andrade, again a fight with practically zero fighting skills. He was completely wrecked in that last round and is so lucky not to have a ko loss on his record.
Andrade went something like 0-16 as an amatuer, he is all heart.

Unfortunately for Andrade I think he has now absorbed too much punishment in his career in bruising beatdowns against Bute and Kessler, and his toughness will be diminishing, in the same way as Edison Miranda's has been.

In subsequent fights I expect Miranda, Andrade and Maidanan to slip as their fighting styles do not lend themselves to long careers.

So Maidana may well get taken out early in future fights.

But lets not use that as an excuse to diminish his abilities now. He wrecked one boxing's hottest prospects in Victor Ortiz. Khan stood up to him.

Devon Alexander was almost ruined by Kotelnik, a fighter who Khan breezed past.

On the form guide now I think it's going to be a Bradley/Khan winner takes all fight, and I think Khan will surprise everyone by completely dominating that fight.

I think Khan stops Alexander and wins by at least 3 or 4 rounds against Bradley.

Lucian Bute made one mistake by trading in the last round, which he almost payed for but didn't. Apart from that he dominated the fight, and never looked in trouble apart from when he stupidly traded.

Thats alot different to Amir Khan being out on his feet, in atleast 7 rounds. Im not trying to take anything away from Amir Khan.

I've already gave him credit and i think its a step in the right direction, but i still see massive flaws in Amir Khan. And he got caught far too much and he could of made it alot easier for himself.

He still looks very vulnerable, and had Marcos Maidana not kept smothering his work. He probably would of finished Amir Khan off.

Was it a brave performance ? yes of course it was. But the fight to me also showed up Amir Khan's major flaws.

Atleast Lucian Bute fought a big puncher in Alejandro Berrio, and won convincingly without ever really looking in trouble. He also destroyed Librado Andrade in the rematch, and has learnt from his mistakes.

Has Amir Khan though ? he's still very macho which is stupid, because his chin isn't great. He loses his game plan completely anytime he gets tagged. And he uses up too much nervous energy

Yes maybe he can improve, but then again maybe he can't. But i still don't see him beating some of the top boys.

Out on his feet in at least 7 of the rounds? Ok ICE

And you wouldn't agree with that ? his legs were gone in the last 3 rounds. He was rocked in the 1st round, and atleast out on his feet in quite a few of the middle rounds. Granted i haven't rewatched it.

But i remember Amir Khan being hurt numerous times where his legs went. It seemed everytime he got hit flush he was ready to go.

[Fenster]

Out on his feet in 7 rounds..

[ICB]

Out on his feet in 7 rounds..

I just watched the fight again, maybe not out on his feet. But he was for certain rocked in rounds 1 3 6 7 10 and his legs wern't all together in the last 2 rounds either.

Everytime he got hit flush his legs buckled.

[Gandalf]

Out on his feet in 7 rounds..

I just watched the fight again, maybe not out on his feet. But he was for certain rocked in rounds 1 3 6 7 10 and his legs wern't all together in the last 2 rounds either.

Everytime he got hit flush his legs buckled.

He was positively drunk at the end of the 10th. I actually worry a bit about Khan. He doesn't take these punches well at all. Eventually he is going to be in there with someone who has skill AND can punch. He will be all over the place when that happens.

[Memphis]

I havent watched much of Timothy Bradley but is the consensus that the guy who had enough to flatten Junior Witter doesnt carry enough pop to bother Amir?

[ICB]

I havent watched much of Timothy Bradley but is the consensus that the guy who had enough to flatten Junior Witter doesnt carry enough pop to bother Amir?

Its not only that the guy seems to improve, with every fight and you see something new to his game. Everytime he fights, i mean i thought he was only goodish when i first saw him. Now i think he's the best Jr Welterweight in the world, and a top 10 P4P fighter. He's improved so much in a short time its incredible.

In the Junior Witter fight you see his underrated power, in the Kendall Holt fight you see his heart to comeback from 2 knockdowns. And in his most recent fight, you see that can he fight against a bigger man. And fight a smart tecnhical fight for 12 rounds. Just like he did vs Lamont Peterson.

Honestly i think he beats Amir Khan, i haven't see that much improvement in Amir Khan to be honest. Yes it was a brave performance and ETC. But it hasn't changed my mind on his chances vs someone like Timothy Bradley.

[Kev]

I havent watched much of Timothy Bradley but is the consensus that the guy who had enough to flatten Junior Witter doesnt carry enough pop to bother Amir?

Its not only that the guy seems to improve, with every fight and you see something new to his game. Everytime he fights, i mean i thought he was only goodish when i first saw him. Now i think he's the best Jr Welterweight in the world, and a top 10 P4P fighter. He's improved so much in a short time its incredible.

In the Junior Witter fight you see his underrated power, in the Kendall Holt fight you see his heart to comeback from 2 knockdowns. And in his most recent fight, you see that can he fight against a bigger man. And fight a smart tecnhical fight for 12 rounds. Just like he did vs Lamont Peterson.

Honestly i think he beats Amir Khan, i haven't see that much improvement in Amir Khan to be honest. Yes it was a brave performance and ETC. But it hasn't changed my mind on his chances vs someone like Timothy Bradley.

Bradley is definitely number 1 right now. Like you say he has serious heart and a will to win. Him and Khan is a massive fight, and could well be the best fight of 2011 imo. Both will get tested and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a rematch or even a trilogy.

For it's a true 50/50 fight. I'm going to go with King Khan though. This kid is going to get better and better. It still baffles me that people dislike him personally. I find him tremendously endearing. Him and Manny are the only fighters who just make me smile when they talk or walk into the ring.

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

I've only seen some silly highlight clips of his last fight but the thing that alarms me most about Khan is that for all his 'maturity' as a fighter, he looks like he is NEVER going to learn any of the dark arts of the sport. The mucky stuff that keeps a guy from gaining momentum or finding rhythm.

I don't like all this excess moving around the ring. He needs to learn to be able to shut fighters down.
Even after reading Azira's update on bringing Khan'sconditioning along (from being too top heavy, to improving his leg strength, balance etc...), he STILL looks like Bambi from time to time.
His legs are not good but in a weird way, can't quite explain it

He is an accident waiting to happen but I'm sure he'll carve out a great career for himself because he is a talented and gutsy kid.

[generalbulldog]

I've only seen some silly highlight clips of his last fight but the thing that alarms me most about Khan is that for all his 'maturity' as a fighter, he looks like he is NEVER going to learn any of the dark arts of the sport. The mucky stuff that keeps a guy from gaining momentum or finding rhythm.

I don't like all this excess moving around the ring. He needs to learn to be able to shut fighters down.
Even after reading Azira's update on bringing Khan'sconditioning along (from being too top heavy, to improving his leg strength, balance etc...), he STILL looks like Bambi from time to time.
His legs are not good but in a weird way, can't quite explain it

He is an accident waiting to happen but I'm sure he'll carve out a great career for himself because he is a talented and gutsy kid.

He's already learned one. Take PEDs to improve your performance. Pac must have hooked him up with some of that special Filipino A-side meth. Why do you think he didn't go down despite being wobbly in the last 2 1/2 rounds?

[ono]

He will never ever be great, he's good fighter but he has too many flaws. And there's too many good fighters around him at the moment, i can't see him beating Timothy Bradley nor can i see him beating the top boys at Welterweight.

He will have an exciting career and will probably win, another world title in another weightclass at some point.

He showed good heart and better survival skills, but i've always thought he had heart and decent survival skills. Its just he got caught cold vs Breidis Prescott.

And to be honest he should of had an easier time vs Marcos Maidana, because he is very limited. But as i said before its a step in the right direction for Amir Khan. But his defense is still very leaky.

And he should stick to the gameplan of boxing, and not being macho and trying to trade, because that attitude will get him KO'ed.

He got hit far too much, i mean for all his speed. He's quite easy to tag which is suprising. Even Marcos Maidana's wide slow shots hit the target too many times.

But all in all its good to step him finally step up, lets hope thats a taster for things to come.

That's only an opinion though, and not backed up by any facts. Nobody has ever had an easy time with him. According to many he should have been undefeated coming to the fight with Khan.

He might be like Carl Froch, in the way that everyone has been saying for years 'Of course when he fights an elite fighter he will get picked apart and exposed the crude slugger he is.'. Well after fights against Pascal, Taylor, Dirrell, Kessler and Abraham nobody has had an easy night's work with him yet. I think Maidana may well be like that, you see his flaws and so presume the tops guys should have an easy nights work with him, but it may well not work out like that.

That's a great point. A lot of people get blinded by superlative skills, and forget that that is not the sum total of a successful boxer. Maidana is a prime example - he gets by with almost no skill to speak of. He fights with power and heart, a slow plodding style that should be a breeze to pick apart. Yet he gets in there and proves a tough night's work for the highest level of competition.

Boxing history is chock full of fighters who defied the assumption that skill always wins.

Exactly, when it came to boxing skills Amir DID handle him easily and was quickly piling up the points in the early rounds. But Maidana's heart, endurance, toughness and ability to absorb punishment are simply outstanding. He absolutely has a world class chin and toughness.

What I cannot understand from Ice though is that he is big on Lucian Bute despite first time around getting completely smashed in the last round by Librado Andrade, again a fight with practically zero fighting skills. He was completely wrecked in that last round and is so lucky not to have a ko loss on his record.
Andrade went something like 0-16 as an amatuer, he is all heart.

Unfortunately for Andrade I think he has now absorbed too much punishment in his career in bruising beatdowns against Bute and Kessler, and his toughness will be diminishing, in the same way as Edison Miranda's has been.

In subsequent fights I expect Miranda, Andrade and Maidanan to slip as their fighting styles do not lend themselves to long careers.

So Maidana may well get taken out early in future fights.

But lets not use that as an excuse to diminish his abilities now. He wrecked one boxing's hottest prospects in Victor Ortiz. Khan stood up to him.

Devon Alexander was almost ruined by Kotelnik, a fighter who Khan breezed past.

On the form guide now I think it's going to be a Bradley/Khan winner takes all fight, and I think Khan will surprise everyone by completely dominating that fight.

I think Khan stops Alexander and wins by at least 3 or 4 rounds against Bradley.

Lucian Bute made one mistake by trading in the last round, which he almost payed for but didn't. Apart from that he dominated the fight, and never looked in trouble apart from when he stupidly traded.

Thats alot different to Amir Khan being out on his feet, in atleast 7 rounds. Im not trying to take anything away from Amir Khan.

I've already gave him credit and i think its a step in the right direction, but i still see massive flaws in Amir Khan. And he got caught far too much and he could of made it alot easier for himself.

He still looks very vulnerable, and had Marcos Maidana not kept smothering his work. He probably would of finished Amir Khan off.

Was it a brave performance ? yes of course it was. But the fight to me also showed up Amir Khan's major flaws.

Atleast Lucian Bute fought a big puncher in Alejandro Berrio, and won convincingly without ever really looking in trouble. He also destroyed Librado Andrade in the rematch, and has learnt from his mistakes.

Has Amir Khan though ? he's still very macho which is stupid, because his chin isn't great. He loses his game plan completely anytime he gets tagged. And he uses up too much nervous energy

Yes maybe he can improve, but then again maybe he can't. But i still don't see him beating some of the top boys.

Out on his feet in at least 7 of the rounds? Ok ICE

And you wouldn't agree with that ? his legs were gone in the last 3 rounds. He was rocked in the 1st round, and atleast out on his feet in quite a few of the middle rounds. Granted i haven't rewatched it.

But i remember Amir Khan being hurt numerous times where his legs went. It seemed everytime he got hit flush he was ready to go.

I think you're getting carried away. He'd gone in the 10th, no doubt about it. Could see that when he walked back to his corner. This carried over for the first half of round 11. By the midway point though, he'd got his legs back and he tagged Maidana with an unbelievable uppercut, followed by 2 or 3 combinations. He seemed fine for the 12th, but was obviously backing up as Maidana was going for broke.

When Khan moves backwards he crosses his legs and he hangs his chin over the front of his lead foot. It can make him look clumsy, especially when he takes a shot, and the everyone's reaction is skewed because everyone knows he can't take a shot, so as soon as he looks uncomfortable it's easy to say he's out on his feet.

The shot in the 1st wasn't much i don't think. Either way he took it well enough. He was buzzed in the 3rd (i think), but again was nowhere near 'out on his feet'.

Still don't think his chin is great mind, and like you, i think in general he was fairly poor. Made a lot of mistakes, but showed grit and determination.

Do you think he beats Marquez at 140?