Fragile - Handle with care

By Steve Bateson

Amir Khan is once again facing serious questions about his punch resistance after he climbed off the canvass to earn a hard fought unanimous points victory over, former world champion, Julio Diaz on Saturday night at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield.

It was Khan’s first fight in Britain since 2011, when he defeated Paul McCloskey, and he had promised to give the fans a show to remember, it was certainly that and then some as Khan was forced to dig deeper than anyone had ever anticipated.

In his second fight under, renowned trainer, Virgil Hunter we had been told that Khan was going to be a “different fighter” as his quest for a return to world championship contention continued, and the first few rounds certainly seemed to back those claims up.

Khan stayed out of range and boxed Diaz from range, flashing in a beautiful jab with his blistering handspeed, and frequently had Diaz on the back foot. Khan was also displaying signs of a tighter defense, keeping his left hand tucked up by the side of his chin, and the homecoming seemed to be going exactly to plan.

But Diaz was coming forward, looking confident, and there were a few warning signs for Khan as overhand rights grazed his chin, it was a danger that Khan took no notice of until the fourth round. Khan was still in control, using his jab to great effect, when Diaz slammed a right over the top and landed on the chin of Khan. The legs of Khan stiffened and then another crunching left shot to the jaw again sent him sprawling onto the canvass, the crowd looked stunned.

This is the point where Khan at least showed that he has been listening in training, because instead of engaging in a firefight with Diaz he chose to stay back, out of distance and hold when his opponent came in close. Khan negotiated the fourth round well and his legs looked strong again as the bell sounded, perhaps Diaz had missed his opportunity?

Virgil Hunter urged Khan to stick to his boxing and that is exactly what the Bolton fighter did in the next few rounds. He refused to be drawn into a fight with Diaz, staying on the outside and then moving in with blistering combos. Diaz knew he could hurt Khan with a single punch but was having real trouble setting himself to land as Khan flitted in and out, seemingly scoring at will. The eye of Diaz became cut from a torrent of abuse from Khan’s fists, the Briton seemed to have extinguished the nightmares of the 4th round and was moving towards the bright lights of another Las Vegas title bout.

The 8th round brought more combos from Khan, continuing to throw leather when Diaz attempted to walk him down. But the Mexican fighter found his range with a left hook that scrambled the senses of Khan once more, it seemed like it may be a matter of time until Diaz may record a second knockdown. Khan had other ideas though and displayed maturity by slipping out of the danger zone and doing whatever he could to tie Diaz up and then outwork him on the outside.

But Amir Khan fans will remember the Marcos Maidana fight all too well and a repeat looked on the cards as the fight moved into the championship rounds. Khan was starting to abandon his defense again, even willing Diaz onto him, and standing in the pocket, giving his opponent plenty of time to tee off. A left hook, remiscent of the one that Danny Garcia put Khan down with, took the legs away from Khan once again and he was forced to give ground, backing up as Diaz chased him around the ring, the former IBF title holder could smell blood in the water.

Richard Schaefer, from Goldenboy promotions, had promised Khan would get a world title shot after victory in this fight but that incentive seemed extremely premature as Khan was forced to survive a hellacious 11th. Right hooks and a big left hand had Khan in no man’s land, his legs struggling to hold him upright, as Diaz continued to walk him down and score with sickening blows. Khan was on his bike, running for his life, but Diaz was relentless and the stoppage seemed inevitable, was the career of this 26 year old about to go up in smoke?

If Khan had reverted back to type and gone toe to toe with Diaz then defeat would have been a certainty, he was unable to deal with the firepower, but he continued to show that he had at least learned from his past indiscretions by clinging on whenever Diaz came too close, slowing the pace, and stifling the ravenous approach of his foe. Khan probably hadn’t anticipated that he would be going this deep into the water, but his ability to swim has definitely improved.

Diaz closed the fight on the front foot, stalking Khan, but the quest for one colossal punch that would put Khan down again was eluding him, the light at the end of the tunnel was growing for Amir whilst the door was quickly closing on Diaz. The bell sounded and both men embraced, Khan was surely victorious but all of the old criticisms and question marks were quickly present once more. It just doesn’t appear possible to train someone’s punch resistance, you can either handle it or you cannot, this is just something Khan will have to live with.

The scorecards were unanimous: 114-113, 115-113, 115-112 all in favour of Khan, he deserves credit for this fantastic bout, but there will be many doubts now surrounding his capacity to climb back to the top of the mountain and stake a claim to pound for pound recognition........Continued on the v2journal here:

http://v2journal.com/16/post/2013/04/boxing-fragile-handle-with-care.html

I read it all. Do I get a prize???

Good effort, a touch dry, add a bit of pizazz to build the atmosphere and get across the excitement of Khan fighting.

It would take me a while to write all those words so fair play.

He is a shot fighter.