Khan's Legacy

Long time reader, not so long poster here.

Now, compared to some of you guys, my boxing knowledge is on a par with the Queen's knowledge of modern rap so I just wanted to throw out something that I've been thinking about for discussion.

What do you think Khan's legacy would be if he were to beat Peterson, unify the light-welter belts, move up to welter and win a belt or two but having lost to Mayweather?

Similarly, what would his legacy be if he were to do all of the above and beat Mayweather? Would he then be up there as one of the greatest light-welterweight/welterweights we've seen on these shores?

Over to you...

If he did all that, won belts at welter and stuffed Mayweather we would be talking about him as top 25 greatest of all time sort of realms, let alone from these shores.

I see Mayweather as a top 10 of all time, so if he beats him, then surely Khan can be ranked higher than top 25?

Will it happen? No, I doubt it!

First scenario (beating Peterson and Bradley to further unify at 140 lb, wins a couple of straps at Welterweight but loses to Mayweather) - well, if he did that, he'd certainly be a top ten Light-Welterweight of all time and easily a top ten Brit of all time. I think this scenario is well within his scope, too.

But if he were to chuck in a win over Mayweather, a claim could be made that he'd be the greatest British boxer since Wilde and Ted Lewis. Not all that sure if he'd have the capabilities to pull that off, mind you. I pretty much expect him to take care of all remaining business at 140 lb though, and I still hope that will include Bradley somewhere along the line. If he does that, then I might just be tempted to stick him in at the very low end of an all-time top ten Brit list, even if he adds little else at 147 lb.

Well, that's told me then! Perhaps a little conservative in my original post!

Having said that, I did say my boxing knowledge was fairly cack (though, I think I might give Waingro a push for his money!)

88Chris05 wrote:First scenario (beating Peterson and Bradley to further unify at 140 lb, wins a couple of straps at Welterweight but loses to Mayweather) - well, if he did that, he'd certainly be a top ten Light-Welterweight of all time and easily a top ten Brit of all time. I think this scenario is well within his scope, too.

But if he were to chuck in a win over Mayweather, a claim could be made that he'd be the greatest British boxer since Wilde and Ted Lewis. Not all that sure if he'd have the capabilities to pull that off, mind you. I pretty much expect him to take care of all remaining business at 140 lb though, and I still hope that will include Bradley somewhere along the line. If he does that, then I might just be tempted to stick him in at the very low end of an all-time top ten Brit list, even if he adds little else at 147 lb.

Can you believe how high Khan's stick is held nowadays - he was torn to shreads a couple of years back with all sorts of accusations thrown against him.

How times have changed!

Very true, Daz. But he's earned every bit of that redemption, to be fair. McCloskey aside, I've been so impressed with Khan over the last two years. Still don't think he'd have quite enough to beat Mayweather, but in my mind he's certainly the best 140 lb man out there - which is saying something, as it's been a pretty live division in recent times, relatively speaking.

Doesn't depend on what kind of mayweather he faces??????

Leonard isn't given a lot of credit on here for hagler is he?????

So why should khan become top 25 by beating a used up Floyd...

Floyd is getting old....

I'd pick Taylor, Whittaker, Pryor, DelaHoya, Mayweather, Manny and Hatton to all to beat Khan so what the heck if he unifies??? Top 140 man of alltime??

No one has Curry that high at 147 and he unified beating quality like Jones, Starling and mccrory....

Agree 100% Chris in that he has earned his redemption in the ring, no doubt about it. Has taken all of the top challengers that have been available to him.

Only thing stopping people liking him now is his tendancy to come out with idiotic comments. Something I fear will never be remedied.

I'd say in that scenario his legacy would be more or less the same as hattons - Ricky did the business at 140 although you could say he missed the biggest challenge (witter, cotto, take your pick). Khan has done the same but Bradley would be a gaping hole. Hatton in turn was able to capture a title at 147 but came up short against the best of the best. If khan did the same he'd be held in the same esteem as Ricky - boxing wise at least, but he wouldn't retain the public affection that Ricky does in retirement.

Sugar Boy Sweetie wrote:I'd say in that scenario his legacy would be more or less the same as hattons - Ricky did the business at 140 although you could say he missed the biggest challenge (witter, cotto, take your pick). Khan has done the same but Bradley would be a gaping hole. Hatton in turn was able to capture a title at 147 but came up short against the best of the best. If khan did the same he'd be held in the same esteem as Ricky - boxing wise at least, but he wouldn't retain the public affection that Ricky does in retirement.

Sorry - forgot to answer the second bit. If he did all that and beat mayweather he'd be a top 10 ATG Brit in my opinion - as hatton wouldve been if he couldve beat the p4p no1. Of course there will be detractors, and there may be a bit if a point in that by the time they fight mayweather will most likely be 36, but that wouldn't be enough to marr a great legacy for khan. Can't see it though, khan makes too many mistakes and a floyd that's still in touching distance with his prime would give him a boxing lesson.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Doesn't depend on what kind of mayweather he faces??????

Leonard isn't given a lot of credit on here for hagler is he?????

So why should khan become top 25 by beating a used up Floyd...

Floyd is getting old....

I'd pick Taylor, Whittaker, Pryor, DelaHoya, Mayweather, Manny and Hatton to all to beat Khan so what the heck if he unifies??? Top 140 man of alltime??

No one has Curry that high at 147 and he unified beating quality like Jones, Starling and mccrory....

Hatton?? Don't you think he'd just eat jabs all night before possibly a late TKO? I realise Hattons high pressure rough-house style (plus his excellent body shots) would cause Khan issues but, provided Khan stayed disciplined, I can only see a UD. 116-112 maybe.

The Khan that faced Maidana would be stopped by Hatton in my view. He squeaked by Maidana who was a decent but not as good as Hatton. Both had a similar style but Hatton is a level up from Maidana I think.

No I think prime Hatton cuts the ring down and bangs his body all night and stops him..

Hatton is better than maidana who very nearly beat him..

Think it's swings and roundabouts with the Khan-Hatton theories, to be honest. The Tszyu-conquering Hatton would probably have stopped the Khan who showed those lapses in concentration against Maidana (although I reckon Khan may have had a lead before Hatton got to him in that scenario), but the Khan who dazzled Judah to defeat would have outpointed the uninspired Hatton who showed up against Collazo or Urango. I see them both as being capable of beating one another, but I'd say that Khan's career achievements, and certainly his dominance of 140 lb, would both be superior to Hatton's if he beats Bradley - and if the fight ever gets made, I think he would.

If / when Khan moves up to Welterweight, I forsee a lot more success there than Hatton had. Khan is just about the perfect specimen for moving gradually through the middle weights - Hatton, clearly, was not. He was a Light-Welterweight through and through. Given his age, I think it's inevitable that Khan is going to surpass Hatton's achievements. But as Sugar Boy said, I doubt very much he'll ever command the affection of the public the way in which Hatton does.

manos de piedra wrote:The Khan that faced Maidana would be stopped by Hatton in my view. He squeaked by Maidana who was a decent but not as good as Hatton. Both had a similar style but Hatton is a level up from Maidana I think.

Yes I concur with that. A prime Hatton would be too much for Khan right now.

However, and one thing which has to be added to your post Truss, if Khan were to keep improving then who knows where he ends in the rankings?

Also, he has to beat a decent Mayweather too like Truss implies, just like Calzaghe beating Jones when he did doesn't count for much.

I think if you take both guys at their best Hatton beats Khan, in the simplest terms. One could argue that Khans best is still to come, which is fine. Buts stylewise Hatton will always have the better style in that match up for me and Khans boiggest struggle will always be against quick pressure fighters like Hatton.

If Khan could go up to welter and beat someone like Ortiz well, or beat Maidana in a rematch more comfortably I would change my mind and acknowledge he has improved but to date the most significant fight for me is the Maidan v Khan one as the closest kind of scenario to a Hatton v Khan fight and going off that Hatton wins I think.

Hatton found moving up to Welterweight that his punch power was no where nearly as effective as when at Light Welter,the same question needs to be asked of Khan and this is still the same fighter who was knocked out by Prescott,dropped by light hitting Limond, hurt by Gomez,and nearly stopped by Maidana.
Khan has improved since being with Roach, but lets see what happens when a full bodied welterweight hits him on the chin or if his punch power has any effect, I personally think a lot of people are jumping the gun.

Maidana at light welter still carries more power than a welterweight Mayweather/Berto I would say. I dont think Khans chin will ever be great but its definately improved since his early days when he was basically still a kid and very underdeveloped at the weight. Maidana would have made mincemeat out of that version of Khan.

Maidana is essentially a slower, cruder version of hatton and he gave khan nightmares. I've always said khan really struggles to cope with pressure and I think the best version of Ricky has too much for him, also don't think khan carries enough pop in his punches to halt a peak hatton (ie a hatton who was physically strong at the weight as opposed to one who had been weakened by years of boozing and cutting 40lb for each fight).

Much is made of Maidana's power but 4 of his biggest fights Khan,Morales, DeMarcus Corley and Kotelink he failed to stop any of them, we'll all have to see what happens when Khan moves up, Khan is fast throws a lot of punches but isn't a big puncher IMO.

manos de piedra wrote:Maidana at light welter still carries more power than a welterweight Mayweather/Berto I would say. I dont think Khans chin will ever be great but its definately improved since his early days when he was basically still a kid and very underdeveloped at the weight. Maidana would have made mincemeat out of that version of Khan.

True but Mayweathers timing is sublime. That will be what Khan has to worry about. I feel that at their best - Hatton - Kostya and Khan-Judah (so far) its between a late TKO for Hatton or a wide UD for Khan. Hatton was very strong - but he still wasted some handy boxing skills that would negate the need to take so many shots. Khan doesnt have too much hitting power but accumulated punches of moderate power usually do stop people in their tracks - unless its the magic man.

Hatton v Tszyu is a much finer win than Khan v Judah in my view. I dont particularly even rate the Judah win to be honest so Khans performance in it I take with a massive pinch of salt.

The closest thing imaginable is Maidana v Khan, which was close and Khan edged it. But against Hatton I dont think he does on the basis of that fight.

Judah and Tszyu were stylistic much different fights so I dont think they have a huge bearing.

manos de piedra wrote:Hatton v Tszyu is a much finer win than Khan v Judah in my view. I dont particularly even rate the Judah win to be honest so Khans performance in it I take with a massive pinch of salt.

The closest thing imaginable is Maidana v Khan, which was close and Khan edged it. But against Hatton I dont think he does on the basis of that fight.

Judah and Tszyu were stylistic much different fights so I dont think they have a huge bearing.

Its more that Khan had less to prove against Judah than the actual matchup itself - Maidana was the first big puncher he'd faced after getting totalled by Prescott. I think he would stick more to his gameplan than he did in the Maidana fight. He also has about a 3 inch height and 6 inch reach advantage.

As a relitivly casual boxing fan you may feel the need to shoot this theory down in flames but is there anything to be gained from Khan moving down in weight?

He has previously campaigned at lightweight so i am assuming that Khan has the abilty to make it their again, Bradley seems to want no part of Khan and having cleared out Madina, Judah and Kontelik, can any victories he achives at Light-Welter really improve his status (bar possibly Morales who is probably past it but is a champion with a big reputation)? I would think Khan at this stage has enough clout to attract big fights at Lightweight and fights against young live fighters like Guerrero and Rios, the potential of a big domestic fight with Mitchell if his post-Katsidis recovery continues and a legend like Marquez following his fight with Pac could be much more lucarative and status enhancing than any more fights against a light-welter. Also given Khans speed and reach advantage, I fancy him in a lot of these fights (though Rios may be a good test of his chin).

As I said I am far from a boxing expert and these are just some random musings and I'd like to get the views of the posters on here

He's outgrown it Gregory, far too big now. Plus Welter has the big fights.

Pretty unusual to see fighters moving back down in weight having campaigned consistently at a different one for over two years and half a dozen fights. I'd imagine that he'd have a world of trouble getting down to 135 lb now, as Scott has alluded to. A fighter is still growing through the weights in their mid twenties as Khan is. Anyway, another point that Scott has already made is that the big fights are at Welterweight, a division for which Khan is just about the perfect size, rather than Lightweight. Rios, Marquez and Mitchell are big fights, but not as big as Mayweather, Bradley (have a feeling we'll see it at the higher weight if it ever happens) and Brook, provided the latter keeps up his current rate of development.

Fair enough guys, I never considered something like the nartural growth of a lad in his late teens to early 20's, despite how obvious now it seems.

In fairness Gregory, it's not unheard of. Just unusual, particularly around the lower / middle weights.