Amir Khan - Time to Get Serious

I am sure like me a lot of you read Amir Khan’s recent statements that he would happily step in for Floyd and fight Conor McGregor in what I believe is known as a Mixed Martial Arts Match. Whilst the thought of this filled me with about as much joy as getting a Matt Skelton career box set for Christmas would it did get me thinking generally about Khan and particularly the career choices he has made recently.

Will firstly say I am generally a fan of the kid. He might put his foot in his mouth on occasions but he seems a genuinely nice kid outside the ring and inside he tends to want to fight the best and has been in some entertaining old affairs. All so far so good. However I can’t help but feel his career has stagnated somewhat recently and he has spent a lot too long chasing fantasy fights rather than taking the countless potentially cracking fights at his own weight.

Up until about 12 months ago Khan spent a lot of time calling out Mayweather and Manny. Nothing inherently wrong with that, neither were retired at the time and they were operating in or around Khan’s weight. However whilst he was doing this he seems fairly happy to take nothing but marking time fights whilst he waited for the call that never came from either of them. I do have some sympathy for him, Floyd certainly gave him some reason to believe he would get the fight what with the Twitter poll and the like, but if recent history has taught us anything it is Floyd will fight who he wants, when he wants, it is pretty naïve to put your career on hold waiting for such a call, particularly when there was a big fight with Brook available pretty much any time he said the word.

However, having done all that and finally accepting the Floyd fight is not happening Khan gets back into the mix by fighting Alvarez at special Canelo middleweight weight. Now don’t get me wrong, am sure this was profitable and as an exercise in showing he does not lack balls it was mission accomplished for Khan. However, it was a fight he was never likely to win, so on the back of the two years he wasted waiting for Floyd to invite him to the prom it is another six month wasted fighting a fight that was virtually always unwinnable if we’re honest with ourselves.


Now on the back of that Khan is not talking about throwing himself into the mix at a still white hot welterweight division he is talking about fighting McGregor in what is little more than a novelty fight. Can only speak for myself in this but would much prefer to see Khan making noises about the likes of Brook, Thurman, Porter and Garcia. I should add I don’t think the McGregor fight will happen but it is frustrating to hear Khan discussing this over more realistic or more appealing fights.

Should say none of this is a criticism of Khan particularly, as I said at the opening I like the kid, but his recent career choices concern me. He is a fighter who relies so heavily on his exceptional speed. That is one of the first things to go when a fighter starts to age. He is going to wake up one day and realise he is an old man. I would hate to see him finally throw himself into the mix against the guys mentioned only to realise the one asset that will give him the best chance of beating those guys has deserted him or exists only in extremely diminished form. I say this because I genuinely believe at welter Khan does not start as anything other than a slight outsider against any of the guys mentioned.

A fame wh@re who will do anything to keep his name out there

First it was Alvarez then it was the Olympics now it's McGregor fight Brook Thurman or Porter and the show's over

He likes being famous and in the limelight the three above show him up for what he is a mediocre welterweight but fair play to the kid he's achieved a fame and fortune well well above what his I'm sorry mediocre talents deserve

Go on Amir fight one of the above three and ram these words down our throats you won't though will you some of us saw your plan all along it's unfolded to the letter

Fight a top welterweight or retire

Rowley, you shouldn't be concerned about Khan's career choices. I read that he has a net worth of £23,000,000. I know money isn't everything but I would say that his career has been a great success if he's made that much during his career.

Besides, what would have happened if instead of chasing Floyd or Manny he'd taken some interim fights for less money and then lost? He wouldn't have had a chance of fighting of fighting either of them (I know he didn't get either of them) or of fighting Canelo. 

I do hope he fights Brook though, and I think he will......eventually.

I see where you've coming from Atila and if the numbers you're quoting are even in the right ballpark it would seem unfair to criticise, but as always with what ifs there is another perspective. Rather than saying what would his chances of getting Floyd or Manny have been if he had fought, say Thurman, for sake of argument and lost. It's a reasonable question but you could also ask what if he had fought him and won. As a method of attaining popular support and pressure for you to be the guy Floyd or Manny choose it doesn't half help your cause, as well as keeping you busy in meaningful and challenging fights.

If Mayweather could go for years without crumbling to public pressure to fight Pacquaio, there was nothing Khan could have done to make the fight happen. I dont think Mayweather fancied a Khan fight from a stylistic point of view. The fights Khan did take, were the ones designed to put him on the menu for Mayweather. Mayweather prefered to dine on other options. Khans been in the spotlight from an early age since the Olympics and I think he feels thats where he belongs and needs to be. I think he has a genuine (almost reckless) desire to prove himself beyond just taking fights for money but when it comes to his own career and abilities his eyes have generally been bigger than his stomach.

This is Khan's genius for me he's got pundits backing him saying he always wants to fight the best

He's one of the game's great cherrypickers for me I can't see it any other way

For a start he's ducked Kell Brook for five years

His career has been well plotted, but theres no doubt he has always wanted fights against the biggest names.I would say the exact same thing is true of Brook.

The only big names Khan has wanted are Floyd and Manny surely because they are money fights

Sadly he's never been prepared to take the fights to deserve them, how can you get those two if you avoid the top 140 pounders and top welterweight contenders?

Because deserving the fight has never been a neccessary criteria for fighting Mayweather or Pacquiao

In all fairness Herman he fought Canelo in his first crack at middle. As catchy said you can argue he has plotted well but cherry picking is OTT to say the least.

He also wanted Bradley, but Bradley wasn't having it.

He never wanted Bradley only said he wanted him when he knew Bradley was lined up for Manny

Sorry Jeff cherrypicker extroadinaire for me knew Canelo wouldn't damage him at all a career extending fight he knew he'd lose

My observations from following his career are that he has been pushed and driven to succeed from a very early age. His father seems quite fervent and Khan was as successful amateur at a young age so I think his whole life hes been conditioned to belive he is a great fighter and belongs at the very top (even when results might indicate otherwise). His Olympic success at a young age probably reinforced this. Even as a novice pro he was targetting fights with boxers like Marquez and Pacquaio with a genuine belief he coud beat them as opposed to wanting a paycheck. This was back when domestic level opponents like Gomez and Limond were highlighting he had a plenty of tightening up to do. But I think the amateur success and the constant conditioning that he was a great made also conditioned him be self unaware (both in terms of public image and development as a fighter). I get the impresson he isnt a great learner. He doesnt listen well. He isnt aware of his limitations. For instance he hasnt got a great chin. The more that got highlighted, the more he seemed to want to prove it wasnt the case. Instead of protecting it, he opted to try and prove he wasnt chinny. When results went againt him, he got rid of the trainer. De la Hoya had a similar kind of thing going on over his career. A tendancy to blame others and lack of capacity for self improvement.

He was calling out Bradley way before Bradley was even on Manny's radar. Cherry picker to me means someone who picks the path of least resistance when faced with numerous options. However you cut it Canelo certainly did not represent an easy option

I think he was guilty of wanting to take a short cut to the top for sure but I think thats the case with a lot of successful amateurs. They go from the pinnacle of something like the Olympics against the best amateurs in the world and then they find themselves against unfashionable journeymen working their way up the pro. Its probably difficult to adapt. Khan was calling out the top lightweights in the world when he was a novice pro. For me, not for the money alone (though it obviously helps). Wanting to take short cuts to get the top is a different gig to avoiding fights.

No arguments from me on that. I used to get hugely wound up with him when he would dismiss the likes of Thaxton and Murray as if they were not worthy of sharing ring space with him at a time he was getting put on his backside by Willie Limond, but having an inflated impression of your abilities or your standing in the game is a very different thing to cherry picking. Khan was and is certainly guilty of the former, the latter, I am not convinced.

I think his management have had to be extremely careful who they matched him with at times in his career. After the Prescott disaster, he was fed non-punchers or fighters much smaller than him (to protect him).

If you look through his record, the only punchers he faced post-Prescott were Maidana (who very nearly stopped him), Garcia (at 140 - who stopped him) and Alvarez (hat trick). The likes of Salita, Malignaggi, McCloskey, Algieri and Molina couldn't pop a balloon.

And so, while I believe Khan had been game to fight anyone and everyone, his various management teams have not (and so there's an element of truth to both arguments).

Rowley wrote:No arguments from me on that. I used to get hugely wound up with him when he would dismiss the likes of Thaxton and Murray as if they were not worthy of sharing ring space with him at a time he was getting put on his backside by Willie Limond, but having an inflated impression of your abilities or your standing in the game is a very different thing to cherry picking. Khan was and is certainly guilty of the former, the latter, I am not convinced.

I watched Murray vs Kudriatsev in a Wigan sports hall and Khan managed to pee everyone off from the commentary box by constantly making "Murray in five" gestures despite refusing to publicly entertain the fight. Frustrating guy.

Khan vs Brook And Aj vs Fury next summer. Wembley showdown!!

Optimism at it's finest!

How late are you Rowley been saying this for the last 2 years

Well done.

I imagine Jeff won't be buying GGG v Brook as it is a fight he won't win either..An even bigger mismatch. Brook can't even out speed GGG..Not at 160.

I disagree about the Canelo fight..I think Khan thought he had a chance of out speeding and outboxing Canelo whilst avoiding the big shot....He didn't but the same rules apply in any Khan fight !! ...And he was 4-1 up...(Scorecards were laughable)

Posters that moaned about Floyd's lack of ambition are moaning that Khan had some.....As for him not having anything to lose against Canelo well just ask Blackwell or McClellen !!

Khan fought the quality Alexander not long ago but that fight got pooed on because Alexander couldn't punch.....Apparently Khan has to fight punchers....Why because posters want to see him knocked out rather than fight a top fighter with good skills..

People forget what a good performance that was and how he made a good fighter look ordinary....

Khan - Garcia...Maidana....Alexander...Canelo...Algieri...Paulie....

All around world class or world class...

Brook - Porter...Hatton...Jones.... (Not great is it)

So Khan doesn't want to fight Brook well it's his call...I think he should but he has options....

Wait for Brook to take his one sided beating...Make him sweat 160 off and slap what's left of him at 147 is my advice...

But don't think you'll get any credit for it.....

I don't think Brook will win as it goes Truss. Have praised but fighters for their guts in taking the fights but would much rather see both in the many decent fights at welter. You're writing as if I have been salivating at the prospect of Brook vs Golovkin, not really sure it is a position supported by anything I have ever written on the subject but c'est la vie.

If I gave you that impression about GGG v Brook I assure you it wasn't meant to be the case.....My post wasn't a pop..

Just think that I could see a way Khan could beat Canelo and it was worth the risk...

I can't for the life of me see any way Brook can win...and as for this crap spun by his promoter that Brook will be even better at middle...We'll I imagine if that were the case he'd have spent the last couple of years cleaning up at 154....

I think you're being a little harsh on Khan but you have every right to disagree with my assessment. Certainly a well conceived article..

Fair enough Truss. Don't wish to be overly harsh on Khan as I am a fan. As you may recall I frequently defended him in chasing Floyd and his right to do so, but for whatever reason it is two years in his prime he has to some extent put on hold. Don't even mind the Canelo fight, didn't think he had much of a chance but had he pulled it off it would be a huge result so probably worth the gamble. Just wish now we'd hear more from him about properly throwing himself in the mix at welter than all this MMA nonsense.

You never know the thread may be premature, he may well be discussing these fights behind the scenes already. Hope so because I still think he has plenty to offer.

Khan vs Alvarez was crap
Golovkin vs Brook will be crap

If only there were two better fights that could be made out of that quartet.

Truss defending The kid again. By the way I had him 3-2 up. Canelo was taking his time. He and everyone with sense knew, he was going to smash Amir.

Ok..