The Wildcard style not working for Khan: Inside game = eating uppercuts and bodyshots

Roach had some fighters like Toney that had great inside game, Khan has improved radically since Prescott, but theres only so much a coach can do...Khan tries to be a slugger/barroom brawler far too often, it doesnt suit him or his attributes at all.

Hes done pretty well so far, trying to spoil and well, cheat I guess when it gets in close by clinching, tieing his opponents up and constantly pushing down/leaning on their necks/heads...pushing them away etc. It was only a matter of time before a ref enforced the rules more vigorously and when that happened, Khan was completely lost...despite many warnings, he couldnt adapt without blatently cheating...by rights he could have been disqualified for that...I think its about time all refs stop turning a blind eye to cheating...remember that poor ******* from Ghana that was getting his balls punched in all night on sky a few months ago and the ref did **** all?...**** like that has to stop!

Him blaming the ref instead of admitting to be the worse man on the night, is definitely something to worry about if hes to learn from last night.

Mayweather senior could amlost definitely improve Amirs inside game, though im not sure if he would want to.

 

Im not sure i agree with this either ,

You have posted a photograph of Pacquiao defending a body shot from a thunderous puncher @147 with very tight technique , dude , thats how its done , if Cotto decides to throw around the low guard then he better be prepared to receive shots inside his own looping shots . This is self preservation buddy , Cotto has a solid LH to the body something Pacquiao would of been bombarded with in sparring for preperation , of that im certain .

There's nothing wrong with Pacquiao's inside fighting :deal , he isnt an inside fighter by default but when he has to survive there he's technically ok IMHO , this bears no resembelence on Roach or his schooling , this comes down to style plain and simple , hence Mexican method of schooling , body attacks = all Mexican fighters have excellent body attack / defence , but not all have an outside game :think

What your saying about Khan is absolutlely bang on the button , but its nothing that doesnt get said on a regular basis , hence backlashes from Twatter posts like " i want to fight Floyd " , or " im going on air now and saying ill fight Marquez " just after the final bell of Pacquiao Marquez 3 during his PT commentary .

Khan cannot fight on the inside , and Roach is working (well IMO) to try and correct that part of his game while keeping his strengths active and developing

 

Khan definitely likes/wants to learn, it just seems when it comes to fighting in very close that he can't. I highly doubt its for lack of trying, Khan seems someone who wants to listen, and wants to learn, he just can't. It was the same shots he was getting caught with by Maidana. He doesn't even need to learn how to fight inside an awful lot, just work very hard on working his way out instead of fouling his way out.

Some of his downfall was due to him holding (and eating body shots/uppercuts) when he should have been trying to work his way out. As soon as the ref told him to work his way out for the 3rd or 4th time he should have realised he couldn't just hold/push all night and started to work out. He didn't because he either didn't know how to, or was naive enough to think the deductions weren't going to come.

This either shows Khan's ego in that he didn't believe the ref would take points off him, or that he simply didnt know what to do. After the post-fight interview I'm inclined to think the former.

 

Its called human instinct mate , the overwhelming urge to hit back if hurt or shocked by an attack

Quite right , composure its whats needed , surely this will come in time with the sparring he's receiving @TWC

 

Crap example. Toney had a great inside game long before he started training with Roach.

 

Yep, a weakness was certainly exposed last night if it wasn't previously in the Maidana fight. The problem is Khan has a pretty long frame, he's struggling to defend himself when he's standing very static which he seems to do a lot. If he's not open for the head shots he's open downstairs, and he's ALWAYS open for the uppercut with that guard.

The main problems are he's very stiff, predictable (stationary on the ropes) and therefore its not hard to find the gaps. Until he learns to roll with punches and move his upper body OR somehow manage to maintain movement it will remain a weakness. This could actually be much harder to rectify than the weaknesses that caused him to lose to Prescott. Ad******g your whole body posture in the ring is extremely difficult, he's always been stiff and expecting him to maintain movement for 12 rounds is a big ask.

 

I think that Khan is more of an athlete than a boxer.

His handspeed and fast feet are what make him a top fighter. Not his technical ability.

Peterson was a better BOXER than Khan last night. He was better defensively and was much better on the inside (mismatch). Khan couldn't keep him off and also couldn't negate him inside.

A perfect trainer for Khan would actually be Emmanuel Stewart. He could make Khan into the prototypical Kronk fighter.

Khan gets eaten up on the inside by Bradley, who can fight a much more effective fight than Peterson fought, using the same tactics.

 

He is also an 'on top' fighter. He has no plan B other than being very negative, and doesn't have the ring I.Q to keep himself off the ropes. Hence the pushing when Lamont got inside, he had no choice, and only sporadically spun off and out.

 

As much as I hate Hatton, I think in his prime he would have beaten Khan up badly.

I think Rios would give him a beating also.

 

Its not the wild card style. Roaches style is movement, angles, counters, speed, finishing a guy. The full guard cover up is something Khan always did but has clearly picked it up more along with the bravado from Pac.

I've always thought and always will think that Khan does great with Roach and has come on leaps and bounds BUT Emmanuel Steward would still help him ALOT with his balance, distance, timing and making his shots more powerful behind a good jab. Ultimately, the fundamentals.

Peterson didn't have better skills or speed but he had much better technique in what he did do and because he was willing to punch first or with Khan, it meant he negated Khans speed. This made it a more technical/strategic fight rather than Khan trying to outtalent his opponent.

 

I'm not sure about your last point achilles. A very convincing argument could be made for Peterson having better skills and boxing fundamentals in his own particular style. The way he was parrying and picking off Khan's predictable bursts was impressive, he cut the ring off expertly, and his shots were accurate and well delivered. I'm not sure Khan could claim the same things, he didn't move that well, his shots were inaccurate and simply thrown rather than thought about.

 

Agreed. It was boxing skills vs athletic skills.

Boxing skills won.

I thought I heard peterson saying in one of the later rounds, "I have his timing down" and then I noticed he was coming forward with his hands down and evading the punches from Khan more easily so I think he had the better boxing brain of the two.

However, it was a very very inspired performance and you have to wonder if he can fight at that level again. He really gave 100% being in his home town and his trainer was doing a good job of motivating him. In a rematch at a neutral venue, it could be different because even if he has Khan timed, he will still have to take a few to land some and will still have to chase Khan all night.

 

I should have said Peterson didn't necessarily have the better skills. I completely agree that Peterson has a top quality set of skills. It isn't that I was making a direct comparison of skills but more that I was noting Khans greatest assest was negated (with speed being a talent rather than a skill).

Peterson is one of those fighters who doesn't have a super talent like speed, power, strength etc BUT he has a very good set of skills and technique. Boxing, brawling, moving, cutting the ring off, jabbing, going to the body, moving his head etc He has it all.

Khan definitely has these skills as I've seen him shadow box them all and work on them a pads a million times. Could he execute them? No. He was clearly uncomfortable with the lack of distance he had to work and despite the ref being questionable, it was at least 50% of the reason he kept pushing PEterson back to create room (Petersons head being the other 50%).

In another thread I said "14 to 1 is just stupid. This should almost never exist in combat. Not only can Peterson catch Khan but Khan isn't a devastating puncher or a flawless boxer. The possibilities of stamina, late ko, cut, body shot could all factor as well as Peterson have a good set of skills which have been proven at the highest level. "

 

Khan has got serious flaws with his inside fighting, its not like hes not capable, i just don't think he knows any sort of technique.. Hes got a lot of athletic ability, but mentally is a dumb boy.. He needs some time with Mayweather Sr, or some1 who can teach him to fight inside..

He could be a rounded fighter/boxer, some1 needs to teach him some new aspects to fighting.. Hes got all the capabilities just needs teaching

I got the feeling Khan was scared to stand and plant his feet, he done it once and hurt Peterson.. then he'd run away and look a clown, nearly tripping over his own feet..

 

He likes to learn but he made the same mistakes he made and fought exactly the same way he did against Maidana in the later rounds trying to prove his chin(no points awarded for that) ,
pushing guys, holding their head down, sitting like a duck taking shots, can't create space for himself, and most importantly losing focus. He flip-flips between fighting like a superb looking pro (Judah and Malignaggi) and fighting like an amateur (Maidana and Peterson both pressure fighters.)

Khan can beat Peterson handily if he works on his weaknesses but I'm not sure Roach can help him.