McCloskey is a hard man to figure out when he's on his game but he does have an iffy defense so I wouldn't say he would beat Khan but I wouldn't completely rule it out either. I stand by what I said in another thread on this subject, Khan still has not fought a legit 140 lb fighter with above average skill who hits hard. Salita, Barrera, Kotelnik, Malignaggi, even Maidana, none of them fit this description, McCloskey does. So in essence Khan is still unproven and will remain so until he proves he can handle a fighter like this, not fighters hindered by size, lack of power, lack of skill, being shot, etc. It's easy to look good when your opponents are always at a disadvantage.
Dont get me wrong i think Paul has a decent chance of hanging in and around the top 10 of lightwelter if he steps up quickly, at the rate he's going right now he will miss the boat to challenge for a title.
Not many of them about. Try and list them. Please tell me your not going the Khan is ducking him route!
Maidana has a victory over Ortiz, that alone makes him a legit challenge, he could easily be placed in the top3 for lightwelter weight.
that was at amateur, Ortiz was even younger than Khan at that time and theres a big difference between the pros and amateurs
I'm not saying he's ducking McCloskey but his opposition is picked very carefully, can you name one fighter he has faced in the last 2-3 years who was naturally the same weight as him, skilled and had a decent dig, I can't.
yes, Khan has a victory over Ortiz in the amateurs and Maidana has a victory over Ortiz in the pro's, i think you misread my post.:think
That's not the point, he's not a very skilled fighter and most people are giving him a punchers chance at best.
As I say, there's not many about, especially hard punchers. Its normal that an up and coming fighter takes on experienced guys. Usually they have came up in weight. His team says he's ready for Maidana so we'll soon see how good he is.
He is'nt very skilled but he hits like a train, which is why he is where he his, only one guy has beaten him in Kotelnik and he might have the best chin in the Biz right now.