Is Amir Khan Overrated? Is He Still A Future Superstar? Questions About Khan

Published

13 years ago

December 12, 2011

Is Amir Khan Overrated? Is He Still A Future Superstar? Questions About Khan – TSS gives referee Joe Cooper a thumbs down for his performance on Saturday night. Taking two points for Khan for pushing was going overboard, and reeked of home cooking. TSS Universe, reffing aside, what was your take on Khan’s outing? (Hogan)

It may be reassessment time about Amir Kahn.

Is Khan a next generation superstar? Is he what many thought he was? Has he been overrated? Is he not a future, slam-dunk superstar and pay-per-view driver? Is he less than the sum of his parts?

Or maybe the questions don’t have to go in that direction. Maybe, based on his Saturday showing against Lamont Peterson, in which Peterson at the very least enjoyed some slight hospitality, or at most was handed a win by officials who were pre-disposed to giving him every edge against the invader from overseas, maybe Khan is right about where we thought he was. Maybe it’s Peterson who had a step-up night, who went above and beyond what he’d been able to do in the ring before, and who elevated himself. Maybe he deserves buckets of credit and that should be the focus of our post-fight analysis.

I’m certainly inclined to at the very least wonder where the heck Khan (26-2) goes from here. The kid, and let’s not forget, he is “only” 25, and has room to grow in the seasoning department, was talking mega-bouts before this one. He was on the short list to hit the Mayweather lottery. I think we can agree that was premature. That could still happen, but first Khan has to be able to handle a Lamont Peterson (30-1-1).

I really moved into a lead cheerleading car on Khan when I saw what he did to Paul Malignaggi in May 2010. His rhythm, reach, strategy, composure, I loved it all in that TKO11 win against Paulie in New York. And anyone having leftover questions about his chin probably was satisfied when he ate bombs from Marcos Maidana in his next outing, in December 2010. Yep, Khan was deservedly being talked about as a short-list superstar. But then, in my view, he took a little back-step. Yes, he won like every second of every round against Paul McCloskey. But it was a semi-stinker of an affair in his homebase of Lancashire, that technical decision win. I wanted to see more accuracy from Khan, would’ve liked to see less wild swinging, fewer three punch combos which feature two misses and one landed punch. The tendency to flurry and then dart away, what about sticking around, doing some in-close work, getting a tad more comfortable in that mode? Hey, I know that isn’t for everyone, maybe I’m just being too critical…And I knew McCloskey was a survivor, a bit of a cutie, wasn’t going to open up and make many mistakes. But he’s Paul McCloskey, not to be a punk. Shouldn’t a next gen superstar more so have his way with him?

Khan next gloved up against Zab Judah, this July, and that fight will mostly be remembered for Judah reverting to form, for the Brooklyn guy looking for reasons to jet, rather than retrench. Khan sometimes did his flurry and fall in thing, showed that he is still refining his footwork and balance, still getting a handle, perhaps, on his professional style.

And then Saturday night…The Pakistani-Brit showed that long jab, which is such a weapon when he remembers to use it regularly, early. We heard that Peterson described Khan as an “energy” fighter, and that stuck with me. He often looks a little too energized, a little too buzzed, like he drank one too many Red Bulls. Is it because he fears his chin won’t hold up? Is that why he can look a little frenetic in there?

I’m never a fan of wasted movement, because it is so draining for a fighter to use his legs to hustle away from a foe, like Cotto did against Margarito in 2008, as Khan sometimes does during his fights. Perhaps, moving forward, Khan will be able to employ a mere feint, the hint of offense, to keep a foe from launching, rather than resorting to circling halfway around the ring. His stamina seems to hold up fine, but that “running” sends a bad message to judges, oftentimes. Again, let me reiterate, he could be at his peak in about three years. He is still a work in progress. This may be an exercise in excessive critique…

And Peterson is a high level pugilist. The way he strafes the left hook to the body, hard and smooth, that is an art and a science. We saw him really getting in Khan’s face, and it had me wondering if Khan possesses the pop that people think he does. If he had a shade more, that might dissuade foes from stalking him effectively. I’m not sure if he can improve his pop–punchers are born, not made, right?–but perhaps if Khan were to set down more on his shots, he could force foes to be less inclined to chase him. This might enable him to do something I think he is capable of doing more of–be the leader, be first, impose his will, dictate pace and tone. Then again, trainer Freddie Roach asks for “under and outs” all the time, so I figure he knows what Khan needs to do to be as successful as possible…

Much was said about Peterson leading with his head. He didn’t really do this a la Evander Holyfield. He’d often throw, and his head would be low, but he wasn’t using it like a missile. He smartly tucks his chin, and that will tend to make one dip their head. He also finishes up by placing his head outside his foes elbows,’ a savvy move which leaves him hard to hit. It didn’t leap out at me on fight night, but I did notice it more upon re-watching. And, did Roach make a big deal of it during the bout? Did he lobby the ref to get Peterson to stop that? If he did, I missed it. I did see Khan lobbying the ref about the head in round 11, when he should have been concentrating on fighting. Let the K St. leeches do the lobbying, sir, you stick to boxing. Finally, a well placed uppercut, or twenty, will force an opponent to lift one’s head up, so they see that shot coming; maybe Khan wants to add that to the mix more next time. Check back to round nine, when Khan’s right uppercut stung Peterson.

That ref’s move to take a point for pushing at the tail end of round seven wasn’t hard to miss. It was ill advised, it reeked of an unfair advantage being offered to the hometown guy, and ref Joseph Cooper dropped the ball, bigtime. Yes, Amir was pushing off. Yes, that’s illegal. But fighters do it all the time, and don’t get penalized, and Khan wasn’t so egregious about it that Cooper should have injected his preferences into the decision. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a ref so focused on pushing, which is something normally you get away with,” Jim Lampley said.

I heard Roach ask Khan to put Peterson on his arse after round 11. I didn’t hear him pushing for a KO in other instances, though he texted me after and told me he did push for the stoppage. This leads me to one of my pet peeves: I really, firmly believe that it is in the best interest of trainers to push for KOs when they are fighting in the other guys’ home town. I think a trainer and fighter should go in with the assumption that the judges will screw them. I think it’s smart to demand your fighter aim for a stoppage, because judges have a long history of rewarding the local guy. Robert McCracken, are you listening?

Ref Cooper in round 12 again committed a cardinal sin, of injecting himself into the outcome on a judgment call. Peterson was up in Khan’s grill, Amir shoved him back and barked at the ref, and the ref called time, at the 1:54 mark, and took a point from Khan. It was ill advised, at best. This was a brawl, a heated tussle, and on those occasions, some form and niceties will be dispensed. Cooper messed up, bigtime, and does not deserve another marquee assignment based on his Saturday showing. But Khan did himself no favors by getting sidetracked. While Peterson was intent on staying focused on his foe, Khan had one eye on Cooper.

Then came the decision. Khan sagged, and then said to Larry Merchant after the decision that it was like fighting two people, Peterson and Cooper. He took a shot at DC for being a biased fight-town, and said he was the cleaner fighter in that bout.

At the post-fight presser, which I viewed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r7fXnp2w6o courtesy of the ultra pros at Boricua Boxing, Khan’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya pointed out that it was a stellar fight and both boxers deserve major credit. He then took issue with the second point deduction, and said that with no deductions, Khan wins. He said all involved want a rematch, and I think mostly struck the right notes during his time at the mike.

Khan spoke after Peterson. He said that Peterson “kept his head low” and that “the referee was a bit on his side. ..He won the fight tonight,” he stated, and asked for a rematch to be in the UK. In the next breath, he said he won the fight, and said some commissioners told him it was a “disgusting” decision. He implied that the counting of the cards was shady. “We knew who won that fight!” he said in closing, asking for a rematch right away.

A writer then asked if he regretted coming to DC. Khan said no, but wants to know if Peterson will have the same cajones as him. Khan said he’d do the fight in Vegas or in the UK. He repeated his take that Cooper was against him.

“Anywhere else it would have been a winnable fight,” Khan said.

After the scrap, Team Khan and Golden Boy issued a statement indicating they would follow up in an official manner:

Firstly, we would like to congratulate Lamont Peterson on his performance against Amir Khan. Not only has he shown that he is a tremendous fighter inside the ring, but also a great man out of the ring.

Following the decision in the fight, Team Khan and Golden Boy Promotions intends to make inquiries with the District of Columbia Boxing and Wrestling Commission, the IBF and the WBA regarding the performance of referee Joseph Cooper and will also be seeking clarification regarding certain ambiguities with respect to the scores of the fight.

We look forward to an immediate rematch with Lamont as confirmed by Lamont and his manager/trainer Barry Hunter.

Golden Boy has had a run of controversial situations lately, and lodged a protest following Bernard Hopkins’ loss to Chad Dawson on Oct. 15, and Hopkins’ draw against Jean Pascal in December 2010. A few years ago, Richard Schaefer made public his view that his company was getting screwed over in tight situations, so I wonder if they again feel there is an anti Golden Boy bias?

TSS Universe, I’d like to hear from you. I tossed a lot of comments and opinions on Khan. Please offer your take. Is he overrated? What would you like to see him do more of, and less, to maximize his skills? What is his upside? Are pundits too harsh on Amir? Can he make adjustments and beat Peterson? Should he demand they fight in the UK? Weigh in, in our Forum.

Is Amir Khan Overrated? Is He Still A Future Superstar? Questions About Khan / Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel.

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Michael Woods

Friday Boxing Recaps: Observations on Conlan, Eubank, Bahdi, and David Jimenez

Published

1 day ago

March 8, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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March 7 was an unusually heavy Friday for professional boxing. The show that warranted the most ink was the all-female card in London, a tour-de-force for the super-talented Lauren Price, but there were important fights on other continents.

Brighton

Michael Conlan, who sat out all of 2024 on the heels of being stopped in three of his previous five, returned to the ring in the British seaside resort city of Brighton in a shake-off-the-rust, 8-rounder against Asad Asif Khan, a 31-year-old Indian from Calcutta making his first appearance in a British ring.

Conlan, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist who famously signed with Top Rank coming out of the amateur ranks, is now 33 years old. Against Khan, he was far from impressive, but did enough to win by a 78-74 score and lock in a match with Spain’s Cristobal Lorente, the European featherweight champion.

Conlan, who improved to 19-3 (9), absorbed a lot of punishment in those three matches that he lost. With his deep amateur background, Michael has a lot of mileage on him and he would have been smart to call it quits after his embarrassingly one-sided defeat to Luis Alberto Lopez. His frayed reflexes speak to something more than ring rust. Heading in, Khan brought a 19-5-1 record but had scored only five wins inside the distance.

Conlan vs Khan was the co-feature. In the main event, Brighton welterweight Harlem Eubank, the cousin of Chris Eubank Jr, improved to 21-0 (9 KOs) with a dominant performance over Conlan’s Belfast homie Tyrone McKenna. Eubank was credited with three knockdowns, all the result of body punches, before referee John Latham had seen enough and pulled the plug at the 2:09 mark of round 10. It was the fourth loss in his last six outings for the 35-year-old McKenna (24-6-1).

Harlem Eubank wants to fight Conor Benn next and says he is willing to wait until after his cousin “wipes Benn out.” Chris Eubank Jr vs Benn is slated for April 26 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The North London facility, which has a retractable roof, is the third-largest soccer stadium in England.

Toronto

Local fan favorite Lucas Bahdi and his stablemate Sara Bailey were the headliners on last night’s card at the Great Canadian Casino Resort in Toronto. The event marked the first incursion of Jake Paul’s MVP Promotions into Canada.

Bahdi, who is from Niagara Falls but trains in Toronto, burst out of obscurity in July of last year in Tampa, Florida, with a spectacular one-punch knockout of heavily-hyped Ashton “H2O” Sylva. His next fight, on the undercard of Jake Paul’s match with Mike Tyson, was less “noisy” and the same could be said of his homecoming fight with Ryan James Racaza, an undefeated (15-0) but obscure southpaw from the Philippines who was making his North American debut.

Bahdi vs Racaza was a technical fight that didn’t warm up until Bahdi produced a knockdown in round seven with a sweeping left hook, a glancing blow that appeared to land behind Racaza’s ear. The Filipino was up in a jiff, looking at the referee as if to say, “this dude just hit me with a rabbit punch.”

The judges had it 99-90, 97-92, and 96-93 for the victorious Bahdi (19-0) who was the subject of a recent profile on these pages.

Sara Bailey, a decorated amateur who competed around the world under her maiden name Sara Haghighat Joo and now holds the WBA light flyweight title, successfully defended that trinket with a lopsided decision over Cristina Navarro (6-3), a 35-year-old Spaniard who “earned” this assignment by winning a 6-round decision over an opponent with a 1-4-3 record. The judges scored the monotonous fight 99-91 across the board for Bailey who improved to 6-0 and then returned to the ring to assist her husband in Lucas Bahdi’s corner.

Also

Twenty-two-year-old super bantamweight Angel Barrientes, a Las Vegas-based Hawaii native, delivered the best performance of the night with a one-sided beatdown of Alexander Castellano whose corner mercifully stopped the contest after the seventh round as the ring doctor stood in a neutral corner chatting with the referee.

The gritty Castellano, who hails from Tonawanda, New York, brought an 11-1-2 record and hadn’t previously been stopped. A glutton for punishment, he appeared to suffer a broken orbital bone. Barrientes improved to 13-1 (8 KOs).

The show was marred by an excessive amount of fluffy gobbledygook by the TV talking heads which slowed down the action and made the promotion almost unwatchable.

Cartago, Costa Rica

Fighting in his hometown, super flyweight David Jimenez scored a lopsided 12-round decision over Nicaragua’s Keyvin Lara. The judges had it 120-108, 119-109, and 116-112.

Jimenez, now 17-1, came to the fore in July of 2022 when he upset Ricardo Sandoval in Los Angeles, winning a well-earned majority decision over a 20/1 favorite riding a 16-fight winning streak. That boosted him into a title fight with the formidable Artem Dalakian who saddled him with his lone defeat.

Jimenez’s victory over Lara was his fifth since that setback. It sets up the Costa Rican for another title fight, this time against Argentina’s Fernando Martinez who acquired the WBA 115-pound title in July with an upset of Kazuto Ioka in Japan. Lara, who unsuccessfully challenged Ioka for a belt in 2016, falls to 32-7-1.

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Price Conquers Jonas on an All-Female Card at Royal Albert Hall

Published

2 days ago

March 7, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Price-Conquers-Jonas-on-an-All-Female-Card-at-Royal-Albert-Hall

Ben Shalom’s BOXXER Promotions was at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall tonight with an all-female card topped by a welterweight unification fight between WBC/IBF belt-holder Natasha Jonas and WBA champion Lauren Price.

Liverpool’s Jonas, who turns 41 in June, has had a sterling career, but Father Time has caught up with her. The 30-year-old Price, an Olympic gold medalist, had faster hands, faster feet, and hit harder. The classy Jonas (16-3-1) acknowledged as much in her post-fight interview: “She beat me to the punch every time.”

The scores were 100-90, 98-92, and 98-93.

In advancing her record to 9-0 (2), Price built a strong case that she is the best fighter to come down the pike from Wales since Joe Calzaghe. As for her next bout, she hopes to fight the winner of the March 29 rematch in Las Vegas between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan. That match, with all of the meaningful welterweight hardware at stake, would be a hot ticket item if potted in Cardiff.

Semi-wind-up

Caroline Dubois staved off a late rally to successfully defend her WBC lightweight title with a majority decision over South Korea’s spunky Bo Mi Re Shin. The judges had it 98-92, 98-93, and 95-95. Although the 95-95 tally by the Korean judge was quite a stretch, Shin performed far better than the odds – Dubois was a consensus 35/1 favorite — portended.

Dubois, a 24-year-old Londoner trained by Shane McGuigan, is the sister of IBF heavyweight title-holder Daniel Dubois. Reportedly 36-3 as an amateur, she advanced her pro record to 11-0-1 (5). Heading in, Shin (18-3-3) had won nine of her previous 10 with the lone setback coming via split decision in a robust fight with Belgium’s Delfine Persoon in Belgium.

Other Bouts of Note

Kariss Artingstall returned to the ring after a 14-month absence and scored a unanimous decision over former amateur rival Raven Chapman. The scores were 98-91, 97-92, 96-93.

The prize for Artingstall, who happens to be Lauren Price’s partner, was the inaugural British female featherweight title and a potential rematch with Skye Nicolson who would relish the chance to avenge her last defeat, a loss by split decision to Attingstall in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics. Nicolson, who was part of tonight’s broadcast team, defends her title later this month in Sydney against Florida’s Tiara Brown.

It was the first 10-rounder for Artingstall (7-0). Chapman (9-2) had an uphill battle after Artingstall decked her in the second round with a straight left hand.

In a mild upset, Jasmina Zopotoczna, a UK-based Pole, won a split decision over Chloe Watson, adding Watson’s European flyweight title to her own regional trinket. One of the judges favored Watson 97-93, but each of his colleagues had it 96-95 for the Pole. Although there was no great furor, the verdict was unpopular.

Zapotoczna, who fought off her back foot, improved to 9-1. It was the first pro loss for Watson who is trained by Ricky Hatton.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 316: Art of the Deal in Boxing and More

Published

3 days ago

March 6, 2025

David A. Avila

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So, they want to save boxing?

A group of guys with recent ties to the sport of boxing and bags of money suddenly believe they can save a sport that is older than any other sport since the dawn of mankind.

Boxing is the oldest sport.

When cavemen roamed the planet, you can believe one tribe bet another tribe their guy could whip the other guy. Thus began the sport of boxing. There was no baseball, soccer or horse racing.

Even the invention of the wheel was still a few generations away when men were duking it out with other men for sport.

Throughout history mentions of one man fighting another man without arms are written in the Tales of Ulysses and other literary references.

Boxing will never die. Period.

Here is the reason why.

Boxing requires only two men in their underwear with no weapons and no requirement of classes in jujitsu, kickboxing, wrestling or advance training facilities. You can prepare in your backyard with one heavy bag and a pair of boxing gloves. It’s simple.

MMA, on the other hand, requires money.

Boxing is for the poor. Any kid can walk into a gym and begin training. When they become adults, then they start paying to use the gym.

Don’t let people fool you and tell you “boxing is dying.”

People have been saying those same words since John L. Sullivan in the late 1800s. You can look it up.

The phrase “boxing is dying,” is said by people who want you to pay them money to save it. Kind of sounds like the guy currently sitting in the White House who is going to save America by firing Americans from their jobs and allowing Russia to take over Ukraine.

Don’t believe these people.

Boxing does not need saving.

Why would Dana White, who has stated for decades that MMA is bigger than boxing, though no MMA fighter can equal the purses of a Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or Tyson Fury, why is he involved in boxing?

There is big money to be made in boxing, especially with internet gambling sites being allowed all over the world. And boxing is popular worldwide. MMA is not.

More people know who Canelo is than UFC’s Alex Pereira.

I respect the UFC fighters. They put in hard work and battle injuries throughout their careers. But MMA is simply not as big as boxing. The purses of MMA fighters at the top level don’t come close to boxing’s top money earners.

Why did Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz and others quickly switch to boxing when called?

The money in boxing is much bigger.

Follow the money.

NYC

A rumble is planned for Times Square in New York City.

Vatos from Southern California are fighting dudes from Nevada and Brooklyn. Sounds like a script from the Gangs of New York.

Where is Leonardo DiCaprio when you need him?

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) will meet Rollie Romero (16-2, 13 KOs) in a welterweight match set for May 2, on Times Square in mid-Manhattan. This is one of three marquee bouts planned to be streamed on DAZN.

Others matched will be Arnold Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) versus super lightweight titlist Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs), and Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) against Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) in a welterweight contest.

This is the proposed match by The Ring magazine backed by Turki Alalshikh who, along with Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing, is sponsoring this fight card.

It was also announced that Alalshikh, TKO Group Holdings, and Sela are forming a promotion company.

TKO owns UFC and WWE.

SoCal Fights

Southern California will be busy with boxing cards this weekend.

This Thursday, March 6, is Golden Boy Promotions with a boxing card featuring Manny Flores (19-1, 15 KOs) versus Jorge Leyva (18-3, 13 KOs) in a super bantamweight match at Fantasy Springs Casino. DAZN will stream the boxing card from Indio, California.

On Saturday, March 8, the Fox Theater in Pomona, California hosts a boxing card featuring super middleweights Ruben Cazales (10-0) vs Adam Diu Abdulhamid (18-16). Also, super featherweights Michael Bracamontes (10-2-1) meets Eugene Lagos (16-9-3) at the historic venue promoted by House of Pain Boxing.

On Saturday March 8, Elite Boxing hosts a boxing card at Salesian High in East Los Angeles featuring East L.A. native Merari Vivar (8-0) against Sarah Click (2-8-1) and several other fights.

On Saturday, March 8, an event hosted by House of Champions features top contenders Joet Gonzalez (26-4) vs Arnold Khegai (22-1-1) in a featherweight main event at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, Calif.

A Big All-Female Card in London

On Friday, March 7, the historic Royal Albert Hall in the Kensington borough of London will host an all-female card with two world title fights including a unification fight in the welterweight division.

Natasha Jonas (16-2-1) and Lauren Price (8-0) meet 10 rounds for the IBF, WBC, and WBA belts.

Jonas, 40, the current WBC and IBF titlist, recently defeated Ivana Habazin and before that edged past Mikaela Mayer in a win that could have gone the other way very easily. She will be facing Price, an Olympic gold medalist and current WBA and IBO titlist.

Price, 30, hails from Wales and has an aggressive pressure style that saw her win a battle between punchers with a third-round knockout of Colombia’s Bexcy Mateus this past December in Liverpool. Before that she defeated the always tough Jessica McCaskill.

In the co-main event, lightweights Caroline Dubois (10-0-1) and Bo Mi Re Shin (18-2-3) meet for the WBC world title.

Me Re Shin, 30, fights out of South Korea and has knockout power. She was one of only two fighters to stop Venezuela’s Ana Maria Lozano who has 38 pro fights. That says something. She lost a split decision to Delfine Persoon in Belgium. That really says something.

Dubois had two competitive fights, first, against Jessica Camara that ended in a technical draw due to a clash of heads. Before that she defeated Maira Moneo. Dubois has very good talent and is still young at 24. Is she ready for Mi Re Shin?

Times Square photo credit: JP Yim

Fights to watch:

Thurs., March 6: DAZN, Manny Flores (19-1) vs. Jorge Leyva (18-3)

Fri., March 7: free on DAZN, Lucas Bahdi (18-0) vs. Ryan James Racaza (15-0)

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