Remember when Chris Eubank was the fighter everyone loved to hate..? but he was still box office, because actually hate is good for box office. Will Amir Khan take the same route as Chris Eubank, will Amir Khan start to get more respect off the masses after he win's his next fight..? Will it take a war..? For me Amir Khan got my respect when he was back in the gym the next day..after his knock out loss to Prescot. That's ambition, that's determination..! No question.
I don't think Khan could pull off the bad boy persona. I believe he'll win a lot of people over if he wins the title, because the general public is very fickle. You'll hear lot's of "I've loved him since the olympics, I never understood why people didn't like him. Breidis who?"
Nah Chris took that role on purpose. He used to thrive off a jeering crowd and sneer at them. Amir just hasnt got that sort of mental fortitude Chris had. I would bet my house that with a huge crowd baying for his blood and a Nigel Benn in the other corner Amir would crumble whereas it brought the best out of Chris. The guy had stones fighters like Amir can only dream about. While Amir has a big fan base - probably bigger than Chris ever had - there is one huge difference. Even the people that hated Chris, Nigel Benn included, knew he was hard as nails. Amir will never get that sort of begrudging respect when his legs turn to jelly every time he takes a shot.
Main reason Chris was so hated was because everyone loved benn didnt they? Think Khan would need a domestic rival everyone loves for him to be like eubank.......plus chris kinda had that criminal past or something too so that kinda affected his mentality........however Chris has a funny accent and a glass monicle and Khan has a funny accent and a glass chin lol
I didnt think chris was loved till the thompson fights, or maybe even the Collins rematch, I know i was over the moon when he lost to Collins the first time, even though i wasnt a fan of Collins, grrr couldnt forgive him for the lucky win over Pyatt lol.
People use to love to hate Eubank; I think quite a few just hate Amir. Which is sad, as he seems to come across as quite nice fella; sadly being a Muslim and a Muslim boxer post Naseem does little to help your cause to begin with.
Jawaid Khaliq wasn't exactly hated, a shame he he didnt get his big fight V Vernon Forrest, woulda Lost, but still he was a great professional and woulda deserved the big pay day. He seemed to have a semi decent crowd behind him, and takaloo was always respected.
I would agree, hence I said to "begin with". There is more to being liked and hated than just your religion.
I know a lot of people seem to thrive off being hated and given stick by fans but Khan seems to me like the sort of guy who would'nt like it.
He definitely doesn't like it. You should have seem him at the Hatton-Pacman weigh-in, being booed by the British crowd. He looked like he'd rather be KO'ed than continue talking to the crowd.
