What I have been saying all along - but I am labeled a hater!

My main gripe with Amir Khan is that has Rushed his career. After winning silver his team were talking WORLD TITLES. I know the money involved is very tempting. Fighters don't want to hang around but that comes at a cost.

Khan was never really tested at domestic level. When I suggested that he should hold off going to America in order to establish himself at home first many of you on here said 'whats the point, he is better then what is available in the UK'. WELL LOOK AT KHAN NOW! YOU HAPPY?

A fighter needs time to MASTER certain basics not learn it on the job. Canelo has had a long career for his age and at 22 he is a ring general. Ok he started at 15 which is crazy but he has learnt his trade. Rigo has had MANY MANY amature fights and seems very at home with the very few fights he has had as a pro.

Khan at this stage of his career sometimes looks like a novice, very poor too. A lesson for Anthony Agogo who is ALREADY talking about getting a world title very quickly.

IDIOTS - you don't play boxing.

Its more a result of people believing fighers they havent heard of are bums without pulses who couldnt hang with a top 50 from 1970
, therefore a silver medalist HAS to be able to give these people a beating

Very few British fighters that are destined for world level bother cleaning up domestic challenges. In an ideal world they would aim for the British title followed by the Lonsdale. But cash is king, and America is where its at. Can't blame Khan for that. Boxing is not a game as you say, so you may as well get paid as well as you can, careers are short.
In an ideal world, Hatton would have fought Witter, Fury Price, Barker/Macklin/Murray...etc...

Maidana, Kotelnik, Paulie are all decent wins...........

For what it's worth I think you're wrong.......Khan's problem is his survival instinct....he gets hit his natural instinct like Holy is to fight back and lose the plot......

Difference is Holy had the chin to get away with it..........

He's never been complete...........but has been relatively succesful.

OneTwo, you're such a hater...

One two -

Firstly I would like to see this so called 'magic 8 ball' thread where you saw fours years into the future.

Secondly, in an era where boxing is as much about who can sell tickets as it is boxing ability any boxer coming out of the Olympics with a medal is likely to get fast tracked.

Ok so staying at domestic level could have helped him iron out what are some pretty serious flaws, but at the same time imagine he had lingered about at the level for to long and then been found wanting.

He would be neither a former 2 time world champion or a multi millionaire who is set for life....certainly not to the degree he is now.

Take for instance Deontay Wilder who whilst still young and with time on his side, is already slated as someone who is the crux of what is wrong with boxing in that he is put in with stiffs time and time again who he can just bowl over. There is a strong possibility that when he steps up he folds like cannon fodder to the first person he can't bowl over...then we will be saying well he wasn't tested early enough.

The saying strike while the iron is hot is probably most relevant in this sport and that is exactly what Khan did. He could have done a Rigondeux and stayed amateur for too long....out of the two who will be more remembered and who has made the most money?!

It really gets on my nerves when people come on bashing Amir Khan, because whilst he has had times in the past where he has shot himself in the foot with comments etc for me he is everything that is right with boxing.

We moan about prospects building up 30 fight winning streaks with no names of note....we whinge about them avoiding big punchers on the way up...we talk about titles being handed out to people without them ever fighting the best in the division. Khan has done none of these things.

In his 18th fight he went in against an unknown Columbian who has 17 knockouts in 19 fights and was unknown. He had everything to lose and nothing to gain...

He got put out to dry yet came back and won world titles. He has arguably fought 3 of the 5 best fighters in his division in Maidana, Peterson & Garcia...one of which he did in the other persons back yard. He chased Bradley for a fight and took out Judah in a lot more impressive fashion that Garcia did last night.

He has lost 3 times....been blasted out twice yet comes back and makes something of himself...yet people get on his case. All the time we have another British fighter who has never even competed at the top level...has been given chance after chance and folds at the very first opportunity in Audley Harrison, who in the build up to the Wilder fight seemingly has fans warming to him.

Amir Khan puts everything on the line when he steps between the ropes...will stand and trade even when he doesn't need to...has been involved in some cracking fights...has had major setbacks but comeback every single time and never avoids anyone...I for one would love it if we had more fighters like him.

Yeah I am a hater....well done.

TRUSS you can't compare Holy to Khan because Holy was cleaning up the cruisers before he made the jump to heavy.

Khan may be succesful but he is in his prime for a lightweight and this is the finished article????

Of course money talks but ring expeariance counts more. Money won't help when you get seriously hurt. James Toney was 1 of the most active fighters in the 90's. He learned the ring smarts that have seen him avoid taking dangerous shots in a long career.

I'm comparing survival instincts........

owen

Khan is exciting but I don't think he set out to be this fan fav exciting fighter. In fact I remember him stating he would clean up 140 and bring on Mayweather yeah yeah yeah.

So what if he has come back? Whats that got to do with the development of a fighter? Had he waited a little bit and learned the basics from the start then I don't think he would have lost to flat footed Garcia, nothing special Peterson and the man Kevin Mitchall dispatched in style Bredis Prescott.

Disagree he lost the Prescott fight because of his crowd pleasing..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Disagree he lost the Prescott fight because of his crowd pleasing..

What crowd pleasing?

He was koed in 60 secs hardley enough time to please himself.....

well actually 60 secs is all I need ahem.

Not Prescott..............sorry the drug cheat..

Another stupid point,

What is a fighter supposed to say when coming up through the ranks..

'Oh erm I don't want to gate crash the party and upset the apple cart so if I can just have a couple of wins over a few low ranked fighters and then i'll ride off into the sunset without ever challenging myself'!

Nonsense...people have been calling out fighters throughout the ages...and in this modern era it is part and parcel of the game for prospects to be talking about the best in the business once they are on the road to title fights etc.

How do you know whether he set out to be crowd pleasing fighter or not?!...In fact I would argue that the way he has fought almost all of his fights would suggest that is exactly how he likes to fight. Offensively and giving the crowd value for money.

Actually it has a lot to do with the development of a fighter because if they get knocked down and don't bother getting back up and going again then they won't develop will they?!

You say if he had waited then he wouldn't have lost to the likes of Prescott or Garcia...but what is to say he would have ever implemented the basics. I wouldn't even say he lacks the basics to be quite honest. He knows how to use the ring to get out of trouble..he has a decent jab which is sharp...he can roll off punches and put together some great combo's....

His problem is that he can't take a punch..whis chin for me is fine...it's his temple and neck muscles which are the problem. Once he gets clipped he has to much heart to just get on his bike and he relies on speed to much which results in him leaving to much space for the left hook. These are all problems which I genuinely don't think he can iron out no matter how long he stayed at domestic level.

Khan has many fantastic attributes but has some serious fundamental flaws....but he should be applauded for getting to where he has got to and after suffering set backs...he didn't simply talk a good game he showed one.

owen - silly boy.

Look you are a Khan groupie and thats fine. I only pointed out that Khan took the fast lane to success and achieving that house hold name status he so craved but failed to properly progress as a fighter who has learned and mastered the fundamentals of the sport.

End of the day Khan, at this stage of his career should have beaten Diaz easily imo. You refuse to see his faults with your team Khan rose tinted specs well then I HOPE YOU ARE HAPPY WITH YOUR HERO KHAN, I HOPE YOU ARE HAPPY WHEN HE GETS SERIOUSLY HURT BECAUSE OF HIS CONSTANT SCHOOL BOY ERRORS, I HOPE YOU SAY TO YOURSELF WHAT AN EXCITING FIGHTER WHEN HE IS LEFT HOOKED THE F*CK UP!

Hahaha,

I'll make this post my last on here since clearly you are one of the 'show a fighter some respect and your a nut hugger' type of poster.

I am fully aware of Khan and his flaws...I admitted as much in my last post, if you had taken the time to read it properly then you may have noticed. I agree he should have beaten Diaz easier than he did.

You use Rigondeux as an example of someone who has crafted his trade and learnt the fundamentals but there is nothing to say that in two years time he won't be retired with serious injuries sustained from being caught with a shot...that is the sport that they are in...where anything can happen in a second...

The difference would be that Khan would be in that position with many more millions in the bank and with a legacy in many ways which would last longer than someone such as Rigondeux who left it too little to late to build a name for himself.

The simple fact of the matter is that he is not the first person to jump the line when it comes to progressing his career and he won't be the last. It is easy to sit here and say if he had stayed here and there then he may have learnt this and that....but he didn't so we will never know whether he had the boxing brain to learn these fundamentals regardless of how long he hung around the domestic scene.

He believed in his own ability to make it to the top, even after being wiped out, and he achieved his goal. He is a two time world champion who has avoided no one and fought some very good names in his division. I am simply saying he deserves any credit he gets and certainly doesn't deserve some of the criticism leveled at him.

Flip side of things is maybe he has actually done quite well and over-acheived given how lacking in durability he is. There are not that many complete top class fighters around. I think with Khan too often there is an assumption had he done things differently he would be a great pound for pound fighter. But hes had one HoF trainer thus far and a current one that has a very good reputation so if he has managed to go all this time with those trainers and not learned the fundementals then I doubt another couple of fights at the domestic level would have taught him a huge amount more.

My point exactly Manos!

Audley apparently had all the tools when he first started out. He had the jab, good speed for a heavyweight as well as power. He was fed tomato cans for the first 20 odd fights of career....began to believe his hype before we soon discovered he had no powers of recovery and froze on the big occasion. Alright he still made plenty of money from his time in the ring but he has left nothing of any kind of positive legacy and never fulfilled his ambition of becoming a world champion....whose to say that if they instead made him avoid the domestic competition i.e. Williams and go straight onto the World scene he couldn't have won an alphabet title and built from there?! Instead he was beaten by Williams who was domestic level at best and never really recovered...he knew after that & subsequently the Sprott KO that he never truly belonged on the world stage...no matter how hard he tried to kid himself.

Bit of a nothing thread here. Amir Khan has performed reasonably well at the top level, defeating the likes of Maidana, Judah, Kotelnik and Malinaggi.

Having one or two more domestic fights (...against? *scratches head*) would of have had little impact on his success at the very top level.

Lets be fair, he got banged as a 21 year old vs. Prescott, should of beat Lamont Peterson and was caught by Garcia when he was controlling the fight.

By no means is he an ATG and by no means would he have been one if he was slow tracked to the level he is fighting at now.

Far too much Khanophobia in boxing forums, possibly some jealously with regards to what he has achieved as a young boxer despite his flaws.

Im with onetwo with this, as a professional Khan has been carefully guided, nobody can question what he acheived in the olympics but as a professional he has been spoon fed, has never really EARNED a title fight, lost to prescott, got gifted a decision against barrera (should have been a no contest), gets a title shot, did well against kotelnick, Got lucky against maidonna, and if he or his team beleived they khan could beat him again they would have rushed for the rematch, zab judah isnt a great win, apart frm last night, when ever the going got tough for judah he lost heart. Garcia was a huge underdog, and now his getting in the position to fight for the title in december? how? lost to garcia, BE HONEST WITH YOURSELVES GUYS, since gracia, has he done enough to warrant a another shot at a title?

It certainly isnt jealousy, mayweather pacmanm tyson hagler hearns all acheived alot, am i jealous of them? no, why because they earnt their status, khan got fast tracked and spoonfed all his career. feel free to disagree but I think he is over rated, his a B LEVEL fighter.

Makaveli,

No one is saying he wasn't fast tracked...in fact quite the opposite many realise he was. The question is would keeping him at domestic level for a while longer have had an impact on his success at the very top level now!?

Many Many fighters are gifted title's in this current day and age...look no further than young Cleverly who was gifted the WBO title and yet has consistently fought C (and thats being poilte) level fighters. At least when Khan won the title he proceeded to go for the top names in the divsion.

I actually agree with you regards Judah and his heart at the very top level, yet did Garcia deal with him in the manner Khan did...NO. Was he lucky against Maidana...NO..he won by 3 rounds on two of the scorecards (which is what I scored it) and bar the final 2 rounds was very very good throughout.

I keep using Harrison as a comparison because he is similar in the context of being spoonfed chances, but at least Khan has grasped the vast majority that have been given to him...not only that but he very rarely stinks out the joint in the process. The kid came back from being absolute cut in half by Prescott at 21 yrs old and went on for a short period of time be considered the #1 guy in the division.

I agree that he doesn't deserve a shot at the winner of the Light Welter tourny which is seemingly happening....yet should Garcia or Peterson win then he will be rematching one of the people who beat him...something which your slating him for not doing against Maidana. The fact of the matter is he is a two time World champion who despite his flaws is rightly so considered amongst the Top 5 fighters at Light Welterweight...these points and the fact he is in exciting fights make him a prime contender for any big fight in the division!

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:My main gripe with Amir Khan is that has Rushed his career. After winning silver his team were talking WORLD TITLES. I know the money involved is very tempting. Fighters don't want to hang around but that comes at a cost.

Khan was never really tested at domestic level. When I suggested that he should hold off going to America in order to establish himself at home first many of you on here said 'whats the point, he is better then what is available in the UK'. WELL LOOK AT KHAN NOW! YOU HAPPY?

A fighter needs time to MASTER certain basics not learn it on the job. Canelo has had a long career for his age and at 22 he is a ring general. Ok he started at 15 which is crazy but he has learnt his trade. Rigo has had MANY MANY amature fights and seems very at home with the very few fights he has had as a pro.

Khan at this stage of his career sometimes looks like a novice, very poor too. A lesson for Anthony Agogo who is ALREADY talking about getting a world title very quickly.

IDIOTS - you don't play boxing.

Generally I am in agreement with you, and that careers that are managed progessively from area to domestic to european to world is the way to go, but playing devils advocate,there are plenty of examples of fighter bought on faster than Khan-Holyfield fought for his first tilte after only ten or eleven fights, Wayne Mccllough was another. Khan has extensive amateur experience, and is now a relatively experienced proand I doubt that his tendency to fight when he should be boxing is something that any trainer could train out of him- it's part of his make-up. My worry is that he has been in a number of fights that can have a serious impact on his long term health.Never mind that he's young in terms of age- he's getting old in terms of the number of hard fights that he had. He's achieved more than most fighters, and should consider what more he can realistically achieve. It's not inconceivable that he's past his peak already.

Makaveli wrote:Im with onetwo with this, as a professional Khan has been carefully guided, nobody can question what he acheived in the olympics but as a professional he has been spoon fed, has never really EARNED a title fight, lost to prescott, got gifted a decision against barrera (should have been a no contest), gets a title shot, did well against kotelnick, Got lucky against maidonna, and if he or his team beleived they khan could beat him again they would have rushed for the rematch, zab judah isnt a great win, apart frm last night, when ever the going got tough for judah he lost heart. Garcia was a huge underdog, and now his getting in the position to fight for the title in december? how? lost to garcia, BE HONEST WITH YOURSELVES GUYS, since gracia, has he done enough to warrant a another shot at a title?

It certainly isnt jealousy, mayweather pacmanm tyson hagler hearns all acheived alot, am i jealous of them? no, why because they earnt their status, khan got fast tracked and spoonfed all his career. feel free to disagree but I think he is over rated, his a B LEVEL fighter.

Not sure he got lucky against Maidanna, he boxed well for all but one round of that fight and was very close to stopping him in the first round. Whether you want to admit it or not Judah showed on Saturday he can still hang around with the top guys if his head is right, can't really take away a stoppage from Khan in that way.

I've been vocal in saying Khan should wait another 18 months before a world title fight, but he's hardly going to turn them down.

Boxing is only a sport for the fan, its a job for the boxer. If you have a chance to go make more money in america, why wait!! Fighting thaxton in Norwich might be good for the fans, but khan wants to make his money and run.

Anyway, scott lawton, Graham earl and even willie limond are not bad tests for what was his 12-15th fights.

I havent seen the figtht since then but i had it to maidana by 1 round, i jus thought there were afew closer rounds in there which i gave to maidanna. In regards to Judah he did show heart against garcia, but against amir he was a different fighter mentally, not taking anything away from amir there he did what he had to do, but had judah been abit mentally tougher.

In regards to te rematches, what i dont like is its ok for him to ask for rematches when his on the one thats lost but when others lose to him his not interested.

In terms of staying at domestic level for longer, its no gurantee but i think it would have highlighted his flaws earlier and they could have attempted to fix those problems earlier and it would have been easier to sort out tan having to sort it out now.

Makaveli wrote:Im with onetwo with this, as a professional Khan has been carefully guided, nobody can question what he acheived in the olympics but as a professional he has been spoon fed, has never really EARNED a title fight, lost to prescott, got gifted a decision against barrera (should have been a no contest), gets a title shot, did well against kotelnick, Got lucky against maidonna, and if he or his team beleived they khan could beat him again they would have rushed for the rematch, zab judah isnt a great win, apart frm last night, when ever the going got tough for judah he lost heart. Garcia was a huge underdog, and now his getting in the position to fight for the title in december? how? lost to garcia, BE HONEST WITH YOURSELVES GUYS, since gracia, has he done enough to warrant a another shot at a title?

It certainly isnt jealousy, mayweather pacmanm tyson hagler hearns all acheived alot, am i jealous of them? no, why because they earnt their status, khan got fast tracked and spoonfed all his career. feel free to disagree but I think he is over rated, his a B LEVEL fighter.

What a load of nonsense.

What would he need to do to earn a title shot?

Why should he rush for a rematch against someone he had beaten?

Khan got fast tracked because he had a name from the Olympics an exciting style and big crowds.

He may have had easy fights at the start but he was a Warren fighter at the time. Since he has been with Golden Boy he has taken on pretty much anyone at the weight.

A couple of the other points, the Barrera fight would have been a no contest if his corner had pulled him out the moment he got cut rather than letting him fight for a few more rounds. Not Khans fault unless you think he controlled the opposite corner.

You are talking as if there is only one world champion per each weight, there isn't. Is Khan the best in the division, no probably not. Is he a top five in the division, yes probably. This should make him a worthy challenger for the title.

Last point is that you are then saying that he is a B level fighter, not really sure what this is but he has proved he can fight the best at the weight although not always beating them. Would this mean there are 1-2 A level boxers in each division? For me there would be world level, euro level and domestic level - he has proved to be a world level fighter which is pretty good going.