The mistake of Amir Khan

I think Amir's main mistake was to, for some reason, believe he was on the Pacquiao/Mayweather level of greatness. Maybe because he had the same trainer as Manny and sparred with him, maybe because he was billed as a superstar in his home nation, I don't know why exactly but for some reason he always seemed to regard himself as such.

Case in point: Should Khan really have been thinking about and planning a superfight with Mayweather when he was effectively coming off a loss to Lamont Peterson?

When Pacquiao and Mayweather had established themselves as world champions by their mid-20s, they had their hard-fought battles with Juan Manuel Marquez, Erik Morales and Jose Luis Castillo respectively... guys who were light years ahead of Marcos Maidana and Lamont Peterson.

Last night I was shocked that Khan made the exact same mistake as he did with Maidana two years ago - as soon as he got hurt, he just started running; not moving away, but literally running, fleeing like terrified Japanese citizens in a Godzilla movie. Manny Pacquiao never does this. Thus, I can only assume that Roach is teaching Amir the right way to fight when hurt (keep facing your opponent, move with sidesteps, don't cross your feet, jab and tie up), but that as soon as Amir gets tagged he falls apart mentally and can't keep a steady course.

If I was Amir, I'd think about hanging them up. It sounds ridiculous for a 25/26 year old with bags of athletic ability, but what's the alternative really? Keep fighting but brazenly duck anyone who can bang, or keep fighting whoever they put in front of him and get KO'd? That chin and those legs aren't going to get any stronger. In fact, they'll probably get even more exposed once he starts to slow down.

A move to welterweight would be suicide. Even guys who are not the top guys but still pack a punch would poleaxe the spindly Khan (Victor Ortiz, Andre Berto, etc). A guy who has been TKO'd at 135 and 140 would surely get TKO'd even more savagely up where the guys are bigger and more powerful. Terrible idea.

My real bone of contention with Amir was his absolutely ludicrous gimmick last night of tapping his chin and waving Garcia in, and this brings us back to his laughable sense of parity with Pacquiao and Mayweather.

When Pacquiao waves the much bigger Cotto in on the ropes and allows him to tee off, Pacquiao does this because he knows his chin and his body are tough enough to absorb the blows.

When Mayweather tapped his chin and waved in Judah late in their fight, he did so because he trusted his own defence enough to make his chin an unhittable target for a worn-down Zab.

When a glassy-eyed, glassy-legged Amir Khan tapped his chin against Danny Garcia, he was galloping wildly around the ring like a new-born donkey. And, Lord of the Dance was duly saved by the referee not long after. What the hell was Amir thinking?

He should now be thinking of retirement. His best win was Kotelnik, he never was and never will be at the level he thought he was at. Sad but true.

:bbb

 

That is an AWESOME avatar

 

All true.

 

Even if he does, he could still be caught with counters by a fighter with good reach and handspeed. That chin would always be a vulnerability even if he did smarten up his game for good.

 

Because he thought he was on the Pacquiao/Mayweather level without ever earning it. I agree. Those guys beat countless excellent fighters to get where they were. Khan hadn't beaten any, yet he seemed to think he was an elite fighter without actually proving it, as if it would just all fall into place naturally for him.