Khan-Peterson rematch... imagine you're in Petersons corner...

how do you prepare for this fight tactically? (taking into account different circumstances, the ref, and Khan presumably watching this fight back and learning from it).

Personally, the first fight was very close, Khan would've won on points bar the docked one's for me.

Now I know my boxing, but not the specifics, Khan is quick, good on the outside and should he avoid the rematch becoming a brawl, he would win it convincingly in my opinion. So tactically, how should Peterson go about it? If (hypothetically), Khan improved and didn't fight Petersons fight, how does a tough fighter draw the more skilled outside fighter in for a brawl?

Although some of you will argue Peterson did just that already and there seems to be a blueprint, I do think it was more Khan who was to blame, especially after the way he started. Khan has this sort of confidence about him and he feels that he can go blow for blow with anyone, and although it makes for a great spectacle, it doesn't suit Khan, I reckon he is better off coming in every now and then and letting off combos. Should he keep up this confidence, and get in the ring with even heavier punchers, I honestly think he will be k.o'd.

Areas to work on: Cutting down the ring, footwork, side-to-side lateral movement of head and body.

I don't think the is too much more Peterson can bring to the table. I felt he fought out of his skin in that one.Obviously there is always room for fine tuning with his tactics.

If I had to pick one something in particular it would be around the first few rounds as Peterson is generally a slow starter, and has a habit of getting knocked down in the early rounds. Against someone like Khan who comes out of the blocks fast he really needs to make sure he doesn't give away another cheap knockdown, or spends those round bamboozled by Khans speed.

A lot will depend on the ref they bring to the fight, and how he interprets the rules on Peterson rushing in/Khan pushing.

Avoid coming forward in straight lines as a cool level headed Khan would probably take your head clean off your shoulders. Peterson was wide open to the uppercut and straight right but Khan /couldn'twouldn't set himself for that shot.

Basically Peterson needs to keep busy. He kept taking every other round off and let Khan gain the upper hand but I reckon he was blowing a bit.

Pressure, pressure, pressure. Khan doesn't like it and, more importantly, seems to lose his head somewhat when it's exerted on him. He's simply not comfortable fighting on the inside. No doubt, he'll be looking to work on that in light of what happened on saturday night, but I don't think that four months and one training camp is going to totally eradicate such a clear weakness.

So I'd say that Peterson needs to make sure his stamina is better than ever before, work on cutting off the ring and learn the cute defensive art of covering up in the pocket, but at the same time throwing those sapping short hooks and uppercuts. He can't beat Khan on the outside (and we saw glimpses of that much when Khan chose to box rather than brawl the other day), so pressure and workrate will be key.

all good points...

If were Peterson I would fight the same fight he fought against Khan 1st time round but definitely use the jab an awful lot more and throw more and basically keep him under pressure.

That's easier said than done due to stamina but after watching the fight last night Peterson just didn't throw enough.

I scored a Khan win by 1 point however that takes account of the 2 deducted points which whilst I think were not deserved, albeit I do think he deserved a point being docked for holding Peterson's head.

Peterson knows he got lucky with the point deductions and knows it won't happen a second time so will have to be more aggressive and stay busy to catch the judges eyes IMO.

Yes, Khan's definitely best fighting from the outside and getting in and out but as soon as he starts in-fighting he's pretty sloppy and has no Plan B.

I've heard people before credit Roach for his training in attack but can't praise his defence training too much and I agree as he can't seem to cope well with pressure which appears odd considering who he does spar with!?!?

Khan appears to have not progressed in terms of defence over the last 2 years which doesn't look good when considering him fighting the more skilled and accurate boxers.

Khan seems to want to prove his chin and it obviously hurts his ego to hear people call him glass jawed, problem is he's getting hit without too much hassle by opponents so ATM I see him getting butchered by Ortiz let alone Mayweather if he moves up!

I know Ortiz drew with Peterson but if Ortiz and Khan fought at WW i'd back Ortiz to stop him.

Main thing to do is keep constant pressure on Khan and not allow it to become long range, keep up the pressure and keep the fight as close as possible and try and push Khan back to the ropes and tee off on him again. Peterson seemed to enjoy making the fight a war and you could tell from his reaction afterwards that he really enjoyed it being a hard fought victory.

I thought he used the perfect tactics first time round and will use it again, it's up to Amir to adapt.

Pressure. Don't let him breathe, don't let him set himself, don't let him spit. When your not punching, lean on him, and on the way out and on the way in keep punching. Inaccuracy is acceptable - hit his arms, his shoulders, his ribs. You will suffer some punishment along the way - but he doesn't sit down on his shots that often. Good head movement is key, and a tight defence - watch the uppercut on the way in - if he throws it. Overhand right on the way in/out of the clinches.

I couldn't really understand why Peterson's corner were calling for the jab. I know the jab is an important staple in boxing, but it seems to me that Khan was outboxing Peterson from anywhere around the jab range. As almost everyone has said, Peterson had his main successes when applying constant pressure. His body shots and his inside uppercuts were very effective. If I were him I would work as much as I could on cutting off the ring and on getting off inside punches while being held. Khan gets in a sheer panic if he doesn't get to tie things up in close (which, ironically, he's very poor at anyway).

In fact, if I were Peterson, I wouldn't even give Khan the rematch unless it was for serious money. I mean, wasn't Khan saying things like 'I beat him already, why fight him again?' after his close fight with Maidana? No hint of offering Maidana a rematch was there? Instead he slagged him off and implied he was above his 'level'. Peterson fought a great fight, and although he didn't win it on my card, I can see how some had him winning. Not to mention the fact that he bossed the fight overall. Peterson should go for Bradley. An all American unification fight. It'd be much closer this time I think. Imagine Peterson won? He'd have a win over Khan, an avenged win over Bradley, a draw with the highly regarded and bigger Ortiz, not to mention 3 LWW belts. He could go from fringe contender to star quite quickly.

I think peterson needs to use his job more in the rematch. Create the opportunities. Also he needs to be quicker out of the blocks. Khan was bossing it early doors but 3rd on different story.

No doubt for me Khan was better fighter, but took his foot off the gas too many times and took too many blows. Khan needs to do what he did good only more often. Get in, get his shots off and get out. At times his footwork was on another level, but then he would let momentum slip and fair play to peterson he took the opportunities when they were presented.

Khan could force a shutout in the rematch, if he fights the right fight and is disciplined to follow a game plan, alng the lines of Froch vs Ward.

However if he doesnt Peterson needs to use his jab more, and pressure khan and force the issue, cut off the ring, pin him down and work the body.

they key really is how he starts, and he must avoid a knockdown.

The only thing I thought was that Petersons corner were calling for him to throw the jab a couple of times whilst he was coming in which may have stopped Khan from pushing his head down and perhaps made him actually have to fight a little more when on the inside before he coudl grab hold. But it seemed more like they wanted him to stand there and jab with the way they were saying it, which to me is a tad mystifying.

Theres not really a whole lot more to improve on I think. Its slightly unfair I think to say that Khan threw this away because for me its not really clear if Khan chose to adopt the more macho kind of approach to soak it up or whether Peterson simply didnt allow him to escape or indeed if Khan has the actual ability to in the face of that kind of pressure. Also you have to consider it took Peterson a couple of rounds to get to grips with Khans speed at which point he was already 3 points down playing catch up. He will bemore used to it now second time around.

If I were Peterson I would try get myself into even better condition if possible and look to keep a relentless pace and workrate. I might try if possible to increase my power because I think if Peterson had been a puncher in that Khan would have been in big trouble at times.

Peterson is not really a natural pressure fighter, if anything hes a boxer who likes to play counter puncher. So I would continue to work on the pressuring game in the gym and work on picking my shots and opening Khan up when he has him on the ropes and trying not to waste punches. Khan is most vulnerable shelled up on the ropes so I would work on trying to get him there, keep him there and inflict maximum damage when hes trapped there.

I would make a Khan a small favourite in a rematch as I do think he can adopt a much wiser approach which he didnt in that fight but we also have to consider that Peterson can improve too and that the fight he fought was not really his atural one so thers every chance now he knows how to disrupt Khan that he can up his game a notch too.

Maidana had the right style to beat Khan but where he just fell short was that little bit of extra quality and finishing ability. Peterson I cant see having Maidanas power but he is less crude and has the potential to pick his shots better.

I would still think that Khan wins the rematch by a fair few rounds coming in more prepared for an onslaught,. I do feel it was a night where the things that could have gone wrong just did for Khan and feel that a rematch will have him the winner.

Although i would start Khan favourite against Peterson i feel Peterson won their fight on his tactics and heart rather than Khan taking his foot off the gas etc. Khan came out with his hit and run style but Peterson decided to close the gap quick when Khan ran, sometimes chasing him about the ring. Amirs' legs couldn't take that for 12 so he decided to lay against the ropes for periods. Peterson set the pace of the fight for long periods having a few breaks here and there. It's up to Khan to fight differently next time as i think Lamont will and should use the same tactics.

The Galveston Giant wrote:Although i would start Khan favourite against Peterson i feel Peterson won their fight on his tactics and heart rather than Khan taking his foot off the gas etc. Khan came out with his hit and run style but Peterson decided to close the gap quick when Khan ran, sometimes chasing him about the ring. Amirs' legs couldn't take that for 12 so he decided to lay against the ropes for periods. Peterson set the pace of the fight for long periods having a few breaks here and there. It's up to Khan to fight differently next time as i think Lamont will and should use the same tactics.

Also think we should all remember that Khan won on points without the deduction, albeit by one point. Wether that wuold have actually translated to a majority draw I dont know...but a loss by one point with a 2 point deduction means we shouldnt praise peterson too much. But by the same token a win is a win.

A rematch I think i something most would like to see. Lets hope this happens feb/march time to kick off a big 2012!

It very much depends if Peterson is able to get Khan into similar positions and AMir reacts the same way ie. Pushing off with his elbows and arms or leaning ontop of Peterson again, he was the one making the fight messy on the inside and if Peterson can get to him the same way and Amir reacts the same way then I can see point deductions happening again.

manos de piedra wrote:its not really clear if Khan chose to adopt the more macho kind of approach to soak it up or whether Peterson simply didnt allow him to escape or indeed if Khan has the actual ability to in the face of that kind of pressure.

A good point. Personally, I don't think for a second that Khan wanted to be macho (at least not as many times as he made out). It seems clear to me that he simply doesn't know what to do when pressured on the inside and attacked in clinches/breaks. He panics and it makes him fight erratically. Roach has worked wonders for him (because before Roach he couldn't defend on the outside either!), but he really needs someone to teach him a few tricks about inside fighting. Just enough to make sure he's not helpless like in the Maidana and Peterson fights. Roach's fighters all seem to have that quick flurry, maintain distance style. For me, Khan has mastered that now and needs to insist on learning to become more rounded. Don't bet on him realising this though. He seems too arrogant to recognise his shortcomings. He's already talking about the 'little mistakes' he made. Nonsense! There are gaping holes in his game.

I find it odd that we all bemoan the deduction, but nobody mentions that there is no way on this earth that Peterson was knocked down in the first. The deductions later were marginal but that was a slip if I ever saw one.

Personally I had it to Peterson by a couple of points. Take away the deductions and it's a draw, take away the "knockdown" and Peterson wins. His defense allowed him to come forward while taking little in return, and every punch he landed was quality and hurtful. Khan often went to that amateur style of flurrying scoring shots without planting his feet to deliver anything of real intent and power. Lots of his shots were taken on Peterson's shoulders and gloves.

cave_man_KO wrote:

The Galveston Giant wrote:Although i would start Khan favourite against Peterson i feel Peterson won their fight on his tactics and heart rather than Khan taking his foot off the gas etc. Khan came out with his hit and run style but Peterson decided to close the gap quick when Khan ran, sometimes chasing him about the ring. Amirs' legs couldn't take that for 12 so he decided to lay against the ropes for periods. Peterson set the pace of the fight for long periods having a few breaks here and there. It's up to Khan to fight differently next time as i think Lamont will and should use the same tactics.

Also think we should all remember that Khan won on points without the deduction, albeit by one point. Wether that wuold have actually translated to a majority draw I dont know...but a loss by one point with a 2 point deduction means we shouldnt praise peterson too much. But by the same token a win is a win.

A rematch I think i something most would like to see. Lets hope this happens feb/march time to kick off a big 2012!

Khan didn't win on points, he was awarded a knockdown that wasn't and deserved at least one point deducted for his fouling.I think Peterson should take all the praise people are too quick to make excuses for Khan, if he was that good he would have changed tactics mid fight like Peterson. But he only knows the one way to fight.

Looked like a punch landed and he went down, happened twice also, personally I think at least one of them were knockdowns.

Neither were knockdowns. The first one Peterson had his legs tangled with the ref, the second Khan landed a left but followed up with his right forearm pushing Peterson down.

Watch it again Alex then type.

Yeah I wouldn't have called either knockdowns

AlexHuckerby wrote:Looked like a punch landed and he went down, happened twice also, personally I think at least one of them were knockdowns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWF9Tbuzoes
0:12:48 he's clearly got his feet tangled with the ref's.
0:12:56 Khan's knee trips him and it's the elbow that puts him down.

Neither looked anything like a knockdown to me.

I'm sure the one you're talking about (The one that got called a knockdown) was a knockdown, there was a punch that landed and he slipped backwards not saying it was the punch that took him down but if a punch lands and then he falls, it's gotta be a KD surely.

AlexHuckerby wrote:I'm sure the one you're talking about (The one that got called a knockdown) was a knockdown, there was a punch that landed and he slipped backwards not saying it was the punch that took him down but if a punch lands and then he falls, it's gotta be a KD surely.

If the legal punch was the last thing to connect

Peterson was not hurt the second time and got up straight away. It was called a knockdown fair enough but a technical knockdown.

Not when it's not the cause of the knockdown. The knee and elbow caused him to go down. I don't blame the ref too much as it happened so quickly, but on reflection and in slo mo it looks pretty clear cut to me.

I'll see if I can find the Ali v Frazier example, where Frazier hits him and and Ali trips over Frazier's foot. The ref calls it a slip.

On a side note, anyone else think it's plain silly for a fighter to get caught clean then put their hands up showboating??

jay-z wrote:On a side note, anyone else think it's plain silly for a fighter to get caught clean then put their hands up showboating??

Yes stupid, said on another thread it is akin to turning round to the judges and saying "make sure you score that one"

Khan said in tghe post fight conference that "if Peterson has the BALLS then he should travel to UK for the rematch"

1 - A man who grew up HOMELESS in Washington DC MURDER CAPITAL of the USA has more balls then Khan who still lives at home at the age of 25 with mummy and daddy could possibly understand.

2 - Either he could not sell out Vagas or NY or his handlers were competent to let Khan travel to Petersons home town as CHAMPION.

Now peterson as CHAMPION holds the cards but he is on record as saying he will love a re match. I can not see it being held in the UK without the Peterson team taking a huge slice of the purse.

Maybe everything you HEAR at a post fight press conference is little more than HYPE onetwo.

Any man who gets PUNCHED in the FACE for a living has more CAJONES than you or I will ever UNDERSTAND.

Are there any RULES for which words go in CAPITALS?

ONETWO, did you wake up in a particularly bad mood today?

You normally aren't obnoxious. What on Earth is the matter with you, man?

HumanWindmill wrote:ONETWO, did you wake up in a particularly bad mood today?

You normally aren't obnoxious. What on Earth is the matter with you, man?

Someone woke up on the right side of bed this morning...









...then smoked the wacky baccy.

I've not seen the fight or even any bits of it,but from all the reports I've read it was an entertaining fight and the result could have gone either way. If there is a rematch I'm sure Khan will have learned from his loss and maybe practiced the uppercut that Freddie Roach was telling him to throw and he will get the result we want.

People seem to forget that Peterson will come into the next fight with the confidence of a champion behind him and im sure he will come out to fight the same fight again, but this time he will spend months training to fight like it so should be even more effective. I dont think it will be much different a fight from the first if it happens and i dont think Khan has the footwork or boxing brain to be able to stay away and box for more than a couple of rounds.
As far as the Knockdowns are concerned niether should have been called first is clearly a tangling of legs and the second came after Peterson landed a good punch and was off balance before Khan used a forearm to bowl him over.