I was pondering this during last night's card. At the moment Khan's team seem very hesitant to put him in with the other beltholders and contenders at 140. Now, we all also know he moved up from 135 to get a quick title shot under Warren's banner and it wasn't seen as a permanent move at the time. Khan never once complained about making 135 prior to the shot at Kotelnik either. Prior to jumping up to 140 for, in Khan's words, the easiest of the title shots available at the weight, Ariza was actually doing a decent job with him: he made 135 safely and actually had a 'boxer's physique' rather than that of someone who spent all day doing upper body work. I honestly believe Khan's chin problems lie in how he made the weight, but I accept that's my conjecture. He looked good at 135 under Roach and Ariza, IMO. Now, finally, to my point: Khan's eagerness to get a title really has hindered his development, IMO. If he were to be at 135 right now he could he could easilly also pick one of the other titles up and have a few defences against the contenders in the division and he wouldn't get as much stick as he has been getting now. He could also have the JMM fight next for all of the baubles and legitimate title at 135 and I'm sure people would see it as a much bigger achievement than have JMM move up to 140 to face him; let's face it, if JMM loses I'm sure people will say he had no business at 140 anyway. 135 is nowhere near as stacked a division as it was at the time Khan moved up and the division has changed considerably since he took on Kotelnik. Since he got the belt, he's been stuck with the decision as to whether to keep it or not. Does anyone else think the move to 140 was a little shortsighted?:think:good This content is protected
i think khan stuggled to make 135, once or twice to had to strip off his boxers. id like him to fight jmm tho so he's really weight drained and gets knocked the **** out
No. It was what it was, an easy title shot against a stylistically perfect opponent. He's ready to face the best fighters. If his chin lets him down so be it but that would always be the case at any weight.
No, I think he really was struggling a bit at 135. Lets admit it, even with the criticism, he's still positioned himself excellently for some big-money fights. They'll eventually come, and when they do it will be up to Khan to prove himself in the ring. GBP really seem to test their prospects, sometimes to the detriment of the fighters concerned (thinking Ortiz with Maidana and Jacobs last night). So I don't think we'll have to wait that much longer for some big LWW fights involving Khan. Or is that just wishful thinking on my part?
He did used to mention the weight was tough i think, but i do think he could have made it still. I did hear an interview with both Khan and Ariza (think it may have been pre-Salita but not sure) where they both said he was killing himself to make 135 and that he'd simply outgrew it. Ariza said, if i recall, that through the body composition tests they regularly did, he couldn't make 135 safely anymore and that he'd begin to start cutting muscle if he went any lower than 137 or something. I agree with your point though, Khan looked strong and healthy in the Barrera fight so if he could still make 135 safely i think he'd dominate at lightweight. He's big enough at 140 so his height and reach at 135 would be exceptional. I do think he himself would fight any of the top dogs at 140, i don't think he's ducking anyone, its Goldenboy who seem reluctant to put him in with anyone dangerous. I really hope he gets Maidana in December though, i think it's an easy nights work for him i really do and he's in a no-win situation fighting JMM
he was never that good he'll always fall short to real men like alexander, Bradley,Ortiz, Maidana to put it simple hes too *****
I agree, but I don't think his team thinks he's ready for everyone else in the division just yet. As someone who has staunchly defended him, if he doesn't fight one of the other beltholders or Maidana soon then I think he deserves the criticism. It makes boxing look bad when you get fighters sitting on alphabet titles. You can argue that he built that platform at 135, though. That said, Kotelnik and Malignaggi are both solid names at 140. I like Khan at 140, but if he were to be at 135 right now I honestly don't think he'd be getting as much criticism as he has done recently. Expectation has rocketed because of that alphabet strap he now has and, if he'd have continued slowly but surely at 135, I reckon he'd have got the sort of fights necessary for his development under Roach rather than be in the kind of position that he is now where people are demanding he takes certain fights. Like I said, 135 is really thin now in comparison to what it was and I think if he would have stayed there, he could have got away with picking up a strap and getting a certain amount of defences under his belt (excuse the pun).
Firstly, I haven't seen that interview so I'll have to concede the point if Ariza did say that. Like I said previously and you have touched on as well, though, he looked very healthy against ***an and Barrera under Ariza:think. Secondly, I get the impression it's GBP holding him back as well. I've been saying it for ages as well, but he really should take the Maidana fight ASAP as it's an easy night's work for him and it will shut up a lot of the critics. The only people who rate Maidana are the ones who have never seen him fight. Maidana has a puncher's chance and that's it. He's ****.
Its a calculated risk, which I think will prove to be a decision well taken by Amir Khan and his team...:yep Good Luck to him, I hope he makes as much money as quickly as possible, gets the straps he wants and gets out of the sport rich and happy...:good
A man who was tight and ripped at 135 aged 18 shouldn't be able to make the same weight comfortably at 23/24, its a physical impossibility. Having said that I would love for Khan to step down a weight and offer JMM out at 135 if only to see what some of the dicks on here would have to say.
It's definitely a fight he should take. The hype around Maidana is as high as it's realistically going to get before he gets beaten again - given that so many people think that Khan is ducking him and is scared to death it would be a good move. A bit like Lennox Lewis vs Michael Grant Better to get the credit for bursting someone's bubble than allowing another guy to do it and being remembered as a ducker! In Khan's case though he'll always be ducking somebody, it's just how people view him.
Maidana is for real you guys will realise how significant his wins over ortiz and cayo were in a couple of years time
You mean the unproven prospects? Geez the guy was getting outboxed by Victor Cayo! A complete nobody. Maidana is a one dimensional caveman slugger with KO power. Nothing more.