Khan Vs. Mayweather - I Aren't Condoning It, HOWEVER....

I think we'll all agree that this fight has not come at a good time, most of us would have agreed that after beating Judah Khan had probably earned a shot at Floyd above most especially due to the consumate ease that he beat him and the roll that he had been on.

However, times have dramatically changed with Khan being beaten, albeit by a juiced up Peterson, and of course Garcia and not looking impressive in a fight he should have looked impressive in after.

This fight due to those reasons and there being opponents that on paper, such as Garcia that have done far more to earn a shot at Floyd make this fight look a bit farcical.

HOWEVER, the one fighter now that I would actually pick to have the best chance against Floyd, simply is Amir Khan.

This is due to his style, his reach, his speed, awkward combination punching and his fast circling footwork.

Granted I would still make Mayweather a huge favourite, but everyone aside from Martinez and Golovkin he has the best chance in my view...

Looking at the list of opponents, there are many, none of which I give a better chance than Amir:

Garcia, has been on a very good run as of recently and wouldn't begrudge him getting this fight, however the way Judah began to outbox him and befuddle him with speed toward the end of there fight was alarming, I can only imagine how Floyd would dance around him, wouldn't shock me to a 119-109 decision or something personally. Too fast.

Matthysse, has already been shown up a little by a good boxer in Garcia, hits like a train so always has a punchers chance but would be utterly befuddled by Floyds fleet foot, far too flat footed and slow to face someone of Floyds quality.

Bradley, probably has done the most in recent times to earn a shot at Mayweather. Won't happen due to Arums heart needing to fail, however. Beating Marquez, beating Provodnikov were very good wins and has shown many times he can box in totally different styles. For me, he is too short, reach isn't good enough, for me he just gets pot shotted to a bit of a landslide decision without him ever managing to get into the fight. Floyd just simply does absolutely every single thing better than him, and the problem is Bradley is good at everything.

Alexander, just not good enough in my view, has always lacked that extra special touch to be in the elite category and Floyd is just too far ahead of him. Will probably attempt to jab and move but just get outjabbed and outmoved by Floyd all night, end up scared to throw from rounds 6-11 in case of getting caught and confused as to what to do very early as Floyd simply does every single thing better than him.

Haven't included Broner because those two simply won't fight.

Current running theme among guys that will box straight against him, they will simply be beaten because there is no one good enough to outbox him in the traditional sense.

Obviously Khans only chance is to outwork Floyd, circle and throw combinations, with Floyds tendency to be high on defense he may shell up to some of those combinations and due to those combinations coming in fiarly frequently it could catch the judges eye even if most are hitting arms, elbows and shoulders. Still think Floyd figures him out midrounds and takes it to Khan, however it will be slightly more competetive and probably more entertaining than anyone outside of Martinez and Golovkin.

Thoughts?

I agree. That's about it!

Agree mate. Good read.

Whatever juice you're on, pass some over alex. Are you trying to wum?

Have said pretty much the same things on the same subject many times Alex, so that's another 'I agree' for you.

There is a difference between deserving a fight and potentially making it a good. Prepare to be shot down in flames by those who don't get the concept of styles making fights.

There are though two caveats for me:

1. Do khan's recent poor performances just reiterate that he can't cope with any kind of pressure fighter, or are they a sign that he's on the slide? Hunter has openly questioned his work ethic. Is this the real problem with khan's recent performances... would a properly motivated and trained khan be able to up his game back to the level of the Judah fight or beyond? If not, this is a massacre.

2. The assumption is floyd fights his usual fight... Economy of effort and risk... minimising hand damage. But he might conclude that the path of least resistance against khan is to go back to his more aggressive earlier days and take it to khan.

Whichever, ultimately he's too smart for khan and whilst he's no ko artist he doesn't have to be to get to khan. It could happen early and make a mockery of the above especially if he takes the fight to khan, but I do think it will be a competitive fight while it lasts.

I get the 'Khan has the attributes to trouble him' perspective. But, he's a one trick pony. And Floyd isn't exactly bad at mixing up his game plans. For me Khan maybe looks ok for 1-2 rounds, then Floyd either a) cuts him off, pressures him, gets him flustered, catches him regularly on the inside (where Khan is atrocious in all respects), b) starts timing him with counters when he jumps in.

I think Floyd KOs Khan.

A concise but excellent summary boxthis. That is the problem with this fight. Khan has one plan and as it is aesthetically pleasing he looks a million dollars when he executes it. This perhaps gives folk a unduly inflated opinion of his abilities. His problem is there is figuratively no plan B, so if someone works out his plan A is is pretty much screwed.

In with Floyd he is in with the most intelligent ring operator of his generation, who like you say various ways he can approach a fight or solve a problem. Genuinely don't see how people can believe this is an interesting fight. The only interesting aspect for me is how long before Floyd works him out. That he will work him out, and that he will do it in plenty of time to get the win are in no doubt for me.

True Rowley, but Khan's among the very few Mayweather will actually have to figure out.

Why are you blue now, mod?

Shouldn't that be 'literally no plan b' rowley   

Maybe I haven't made myself clear. Floyd wins. He'll solve the puzzle. It's a question of when.

At least there's a puzzle to solve. Garcia, Bradley... More deserving opponents, don't have a single attribute on par with floyd, excepting garcia's left hook which will never land. Guaranteed 12 round borefest landslides.

I'm just interested in seeing if khan can land some combos and how floyd reacts.

Err... What jbw said, more concisely

I would still add Manny Pacquiao to the list of fighters which "may" trouble Mayweather. Having said that, I think Floyd would probably counter his way to victory a la Marquez but in more convincing fashion.

It's a shame Khan did lose to Garcia, I feel if he had beat Peterson in a rematch and then moved up to 147lbs many more world consider this a much more viable fight.

I do happen to think Khan troubles Floyd for maybe 2 or 3 rounds, but he doesn't have the stamina or plan b to stay with him for 12 rounds. But, agreed with Alex- it's the only interesting fight out there except a fight at 160lbs which no one should expect.

Agree on pacquiao, need to see if he's recovered from the Marquez ko, but I'd still like to see it. Although, there will be a la Leonard hagler, a 3-4 years too late element to it.

Why are there only welterweights being considered as Floyd's next opponents?

Floyd is also Linear/WBC/WBA light middleweight champion.

The only man to be able to match Floyd for speed and footwork is Erislandy Lara(WBA interim light middleweight champion)

Lara is also undefeated(robbery against Paul Williams was a farce)

Lara can beat Mayweather. Lara would've KO'd Canelo.

It's a real shame that Khan can't avoid punches you're right ATG but the Garcia fight showed that he's not got the ability to really trouble Mayweather. He might make it interesting for a round or two but that's about it.

This is the same Lara who struggled like hell against Angulo and Martirosyan, as for knocking out Canelo I very much doubt it, he doesn't seem to possess top level power.

milkyboy wrote:
Maybe I haven't made myself clear. Floyd wins. He'll solve the puzzle. It's a question of when.

At least there's a puzzle to solve. Garcia, Bradley... More deserving opponents, don't have a single attribute on par with floyd, excepting garcia's left hook which will never land. Guaranteed 12 round borefest landslides.

I'm just interested in seeing if khan can land some combos and how floyd reacts.

Fair enough point.

I still think Bradley with his attitude, tenacity, and all round skillset gives Floyd the more interesting fight.....or maybe I'm just a tad more sympathetic to him because he actually deserves it based on his results.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:This is the same Lara who struggled like hell against Angulo and Martirosyan, as for knocking out Canelo I very much doubt it, he doesn't seem to possess top level power.

Even though Angulo dropped Lara twice, Lara was still winning on 2 cards until the stoppage.

Lara was coming on strong in the latter rounds against Martirosyan and would've won.

Canelo dodged Lara for over 3 years, I'm Mexican and know Lara would've boxed Canelo's ears off. Canelo would've retired on the stool in the late rounds.

You think you do not know.

Make excuses for Lara if you wish but he still struggled with Angulo, Martirosyan and before that Molina, not the sign of a Mayweather beater or someone who beats Alvarez up. Since he was robbed against Williams, his actual ability has been blown out of all proportion, completely ignoring the various times he's been troubled.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:You think you do not know.

Make excuses for Lara if you wish but he still struggled with Angulo, Martirosyan and before that Molina, not the sign of a Mayweather beater or someone who beats Alvarez up. Since he was robbed against Williams, his actual ability has been blown out of all proportion, completely ignoring the various times he's been troubled.

His ability was hardly 'blown up' after the Williams robbery.

Lara was an outstanding amateur. His motivation was dented after the Williams fight.

Instead of fighting Canelo for a title, Lara had to fight Freddy Hernandez instead.

Mental weakness isn't an excuse, Marquez has felt robbed throughout his career, left, right and centre but got on with his career as Lara should have done.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Mental weakness isn't an excuse, Marquez has felt robbed throughout his career, left, right and centre but got on with his career as Lara should have done.

Mental toughness? I'm sure leaving to home/family to move to Miami showed plenty of mental strength.

Anyway after Lara picks apart Trout. He'll put himself into position to get a title shot.

Time will tell, he's yet to pick apart three world level light middleweights so don't think he'll be doing a job on Trout.

RE: Khan Vs Mayweather

It's difficult to shoulder role 6 punches coming at you at a million miles an hour, but's it's easy to take a couple and deliver a counter. That's what Mayweather will do, and with Khans chin being the way it is then its an easy night for FMM (even if a few punches delivered with speed by khan, but absent thought, get through).

Khan gets knocked out in the 2nd round after being dropped in the first. If Garcia, Prescott, Limond and most of the other guys he's faced can drop him and not too sure what he does with a guy who doesn't exactly throw big wild punches in terms of accuracy.

Absolutely 100% guaranteed.

Frankly I think we've seen the the best of Khan, and at his best he doesn't beat Mayweather,won't take long for Mayweather to work him out,when Khan misses he'll pay big time, as Rowley said no plan B from Khan.
Sensible fight for Mayweather catches the imagination both sides of the water.

Kind of agree with Gerry on Lara being the best test for Mayweather, actually, but Mayweather will just say he doesn't sell enough, and I guess he's right.

However, Mayweather just cashed in against a massive marketable but one paced Canelo, and now he's cashing against Khan who just doesn't deserve it, so why shouldn't he take on a dangerous, lesser known boxer puncher in Lara?

Ah, I'm getting ahead of myself, we need to see what happens against Trout first, although I know what I'm expecting.

Thanks for the viewpoints guys, interesting debate.

I would personally say that Trout beats Lara to a hardfought UD based on what I've seen from both. Think Trout is a much neater, much smarter version of Paul Williams, and does everything better than him, and whilst Williams shouldn't have walked away with a W, he did win around 4 rounds against Lara on the back of a crushing defeat to Martinez being KO'ed of the year in 2. My analogy is that a guy who for me possesses similarish threats but is essentially a far more dangerous version of a guy that got 4 rounds at his worst can most certainly win.

As for Azania, what exactly is it that you disagree with?

Rowley wrote:A concise but excellent summary boxthis. That is the problem with this fight. Khan has one plan and as it is aesthetically pleasing he looks a million dollars when he executes it. This perhaps gives folk a unduly inflated opinion of his abilities. His problem is there is figuratively no plan B, so if someone works out his plan A is is pretty much screwed.

In with Floyd he is in with the most intelligent ring operator of his generation, who like you say various ways he can approach a fight or solve a problem. Genuinely don't see how people can believe this is an interesting fight. The only interesting aspect for me is how long before Floyd works him out. That he will work him out, and that he will do it in plenty of time to get the win are in no doubt for me.

Good points Rowley and I agree to an extent, but the point I am making is that with all of the other opponents he can simply beat them at there own games, at the very least Floyd has some genuine work to do, which is different in comparison to all the other fights.

Does anyone think a Lara fight (if he fights and beats Trout, which I expect) could be in an interesting one?

I don't think anybody is saying that Khan will win.........But I think those that are promoting Khan like me see Garcia's style as being made for Mayweather......He is an overachiever in every sense of the word and I for one admire him for it... but I can't see how the heck he poses Floyd any sleepless nights with what he has.....For sure he's more worthy!!!

Khan however is taller, quicker and offers Mayweather a good jab and decent boxing skills If/till he gets caught.......

He's more likely to give Mayweather a puzzle to solve......

Instead of a 120-108 walk in the park......

Not sure GGG and Martinez will be more legacy enhancing........If it can be more enhanced.......

Like Alvarez I imagine GGG becomes an ordinary plodder should he lose..

It's funny but I remember posters suggesting Mayweather wouldn't have the nuts to fight Alvarez and yet when he did few gave him credit for a convincing win......

So for me he should avoid GGG and Martinez (He'd beat Sergio)....and take on stiffs for his last few fights.......

He's earned it and he gets no credit of guys like Hauser and others who live in the past..

Personally I'd like him to retire soon......before some undeserving punk gets a lucky night..

A little more interesting than most, I just think his move away jab and single left hand will be easyish for Floyd to disect personally. Think you need combinations at some point to outhustle Floyd, don't see Lara throwing more than 2 punches at once.

I would say 160lb title wins against Martinez or GGG is legacy enhancing, but 90% will drop onto the "What Martinez who was nearly beat by Murray, he was shot" And GGG will be "He beat nobodies and was overhyped, just a plodder."

Agree with the rest Truss.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

Not sure GGG and Martinez will be more legacy enhancing........If it can be more enhanced.......

Like Alvarez I imagine GGG becomes an ordinary plodder should he lose..

It's funny but I remember posters suggesting Mayweather wouldn't have the nuts to fight Alvarez and yet when he did few gave him credit for a convincing win......
.

I honestly don't know where this is coming from. For the most part, all I've seen is 'Floyd put on a masterclass' against Alvarez. He got big credit for that win. Beating GGG and/or Martinez would be clearly legacy enhancing. He would get huge respect for that. There have perhaps been a few minority voices who still like to deride all Floyd's opponents, but, almost universally, he is credited as the best boxer of his generation. I'm not sure how much more credit he can get.

AlexHuckerby wrote:I would say 160lb title wins against Martinez or GGG is legacy enhancing, but 90% will drop onto the "What Martinez who was nearly beat by Murray, he was shot" And GGG will be "He beat nobodies and was overhyped, just a plodder."

But who will really say these things? One or two bitter boxer writers with an agenda? A few people on here who hate Floyd? Meanwhile, I'd imagine 90% of the boxing public/media would be saying "wow, what a great win".

They won't be saying that after a Khan victory though.

I've seen most say Canelo was overhyped... Fought nobodies etc.

Same when Trout was in with a 50/50 fight with Canelo, a lot of people rated him, he loses to Canelo, overhyped, beat up a shot Cotto etc.

AlexHuckerby wrote:I've seen most say Canelo was overhyped... Fought nobodies etc.

Same when Trout was in with a 50/50 fight with Canelo, a lot of people rated him, he loses to Canelo, overhyped, beat up a shot Cotto etc.

Fair enough. It's definitely not what I've seen for the most part. Well.....at least it hasn't been particularly prevalent considering that some boxing fans always talk in this way.

I'd never really thought of Trout and Williams as being similar but now you mention it I can see where you're coming from.

Trout's skills with Williams' workrate would be a truly horrific opponent for anyone.