[hitman]

How good is Amir Khan?

His win on Sat was certainly impressive in terms of his durability and speed but how many times was Kotelnik in trouble? I still feel a harder puncher would knock him out, including Ricky Hatton whom Khan has been calling out in the press. Anyone care to discuss?

p.s. no racist pish please.

This post has been edited by hitman: 22 July 2009 - 21:44

[The Hurricane]

hitman, on Jul 22 2009, 21:43, said:

How good is Amir Khan?

His win on Sat was certainly impressive in terms of his durability and speed but how many times was Kotelnik in trouble? I still feel a harder puncher would knock him out, including Ricky Hatton whom Khan has been calling out in the press. Anyone care to discuss?

p.s. no racist pish please.

Isnae the Airdrie Hoodlums website yir on like.

I think he is good. Chin as has been said countless times before is very suspect. He can counteract that however by just not getting hit. His Cardio is excellent and he has no problems going 12 rounds. I think he is a more intelligent fighter than Ricky Hatton thus would beat him if he avoided the early flurry.

[Big Mac]

Khan may be a more thoughtful fighter now he has Freddie Roach helping him but I personally don't think he's that great. His opponent ( Kotelnik ) was hand picked because of his lack of punching power. Khan can up his work rate all he wants but a heavy hitter will still floor him including Hatton.

[Loki]

There is lots of views on Amir Khan on the boxing thread.

I agree with you, I think that he is a very good technical boxer. Has great hand speed and foot speed, has great feint action and has reasonable power. Although you say that Kotelnik was never in alot of trouble, Joe Calzaghe boxed most of his career that way. You don't need to batter someone senseless to win a boxing match. Of course his punch durability is poor, but Freddie Roach has worked on defending himself better. There is no reason to think he can't go on and make a succesful career out of boxing. He is exciting, and anyone could knock him out so that makes his fights more exciting.

The fight with Hatton is a very risky one for Khan. Eventhough Hatton is one dimensional and Freddie Roach knows how to beat Hatton, Hatton will have opportunities at knocking him out. Hatton is a very strong powerful hitter. Hatton will not want to lose to Khan so will be more determined to get the win. But Khan has the ability to outbox Hatton over 12 rounds, but I don't think he will be able to limit Hatton's opportunities at knocking him out too much.

[Big Mac]

Loki, on Jul 22 2009, 23:08, said:

There is lots of views on Amir Khan on the boxing thread.

I agree with you, I think that he is a very good technical boxer. Has great hand speed and foot speed, has great feint action and has reasonable power. Although you say that Kotelnik was never in alot of trouble, Joe Calzaghe boxed most of his career that way. You don't need to batter someone senseless to win a boxing match. Of course his punch durability is poor, but Freddie Roach has worked on defending himself better. There is no reason to think he can't go on and make a succesful career out of boxing. He is exciting, and anyone could knock him out so that makes his fights more exciting.

The fight with Hatton is a very risky one for Khan. Eventhough Hatton is one dimensional and Freddie Roach knows how to beat Hatton, Hatton will have opportunities at knocking him out. Hatton is a very strong powerful hitter. Hatton will not want to lose to Khan so will be more determined to get the win. But Khan has the ability to outbox Hatton over 12 rounds, but I don't think he will be able to limit Hatton's opportunities at knocking him out too much.

The reality is one hard punch from Hatton or anyone else would floor Khan. He is nice to watch and has a lot of flair against powderpuff boxers like Kotelnik but I really don't think he would last long against any of the big-hitters. His opponents have been hand-picked to suit him apart from Prescott ( say no more! ) and that IMO is partly why the British public have been lukewarm in their support for him.

Some may say he destroyed Barrerra but is beating an old man ( who could hardly see! ) that much of an achievement considering the Mexican's peak was at least five years ago. I really want to support Khan but can't help feeling he ain't the real deal, world title or not.

[xbl]

I haven't watched every Khan fight by any means, but I really like the guy! He comes across as a polite and humble young guy, but with real confidence in his ability, and he has shown that he can learn from his mistakes and improve. As a boxer, I find him entertaining to watch! He has good technical ability, blinding quickness, and puts on a good show.

Also, I have to admit that the fact that so many people hate him makes me like him more. Despite his potential, people just haven't taken to him for various reasons, and I don't think there is any way he can turn that around. Its like Lewis had a core of haters during his career, even when he was wining title after title.

I'm no boxing expert, but I really like the guy and I think he has the ability, the temperment, and the work ethic to become a very good boxer indeed. He's only 22, and people are already talking about a match up with Hatton and fighting for more titles.

Edited to add, regarding the hand picked argument, that is only normally trotted out after the fight. Before Barrera, Khan was going to be shown up by the master. After the fight, Barrera was hand picked and past it. Same with his last fight. Khan was massively underrated by people, and yet after the fight, all these "experts" had known all along that his opponent was hand picked.

This post has been edited by xbl: 22 July 2009 - 22:59

[lichtie23]

Suspect chin but good power and incredibly fast.

Think he defently maturing as a fighter, that whipping he got from the yank looks like it knocked some sense into him.

Stupid to call out Hatton though. Hatton, despite his recent defeats is still world class and Khan ain't quite at that stage yet.

[banana]

hitman, on Jul 22 2009, 22:43, said:

p.s. no racist pish please.

Brilliant coming from a Rangers fan.

[ICTChris]

xbl, on Jul 22 2009, 23:57, said:

Edited to add, regarding the hand picked argument, that is only normally trotted out after the fight. Before Barrera, Khan was going to be shown up by the master. After the fight, Barrera was hand picked and past it. Same with his last fight. Khan was massively underrated by people, and yet after the fight, all these "experts" had known all along that his opponent was hand picked.

If you go onto boxing forums before just about every Khan fight people will pick at his choice of opponent. Regarding the Barrera fight Khan was fighting a 35 year old smaller man, who then got his head split open in the first round. It was hardly an amazing victory.

I think Khan is a good fighter - his best asset is his speed. I do think he has issues with his punch resistance, which Roach has helped partially counter. In the fight on Saturday he used mainly straight punches, in and out, rather than planting himself for any power shots. Now, that could have been smart tactics to win on points against a durable fighter who has never been stopped or put down, or it could be that Roach and Khan know that if he sets himself and then gets countered he could be knocked out again. Either way, he won the fight easily so it worked.

What will be interesting is how he approaches his defences. There's a lot of suspicion that Kotelnik was chosen as an opponent because of his relative lack of punching power - will this be a pattern in Khan's reign or will he fight all comers?

[ayrmad]

ICTChris, on Jul 23 2009, 09:55, said:

If you go onto boxing forums before just about every Khan fight people will pick at his choice of opponent. Regarding the Barrera fight Khan was fighting a 35 year old smaller man, who then got his head split open in the first round. It was hardly an amazing victory.

I think Khan is a good fighter - his best asset is his speed. I do think he has issues with his punch resistance, which Roach has helped partially counter. In the fight on Saturday he used mainly straight punches, in and out, rather than planting himself for any power shots. Now, that could have been smart tactics to win on points against a durable fighter who has never been stopped or put down, or it could be that Roach and Khan know that if he sets himself and then gets countered he could be knocked out again. Either way, he won the fight easily so it worked.

What will be interesting is how he approaches his defences. There's a lot of suspicion that Kotelnik was chosen as an opponent because of his relative lack of punching power - will this be a pattern in Khan's reign or will he fight all comers?

He'll continue to fight boxers who lack punching power,his pitter patter combinations will not stop or deter more aggresive fighters,even forgeting the holes in his defence when he tries to impart power in his punches if he throws punches with power how will his stamina last then?

Pitter patter combinations shouldn't tire a pro out as they do hundreds of rounds of sparring throwing weaker punches,throwing bigger punches that land or not do test your stamina,I can envisage him running about like Stan Laurel to keep away from a top boxer with power.