does anybody beleive mcclosky can beat khan?

Right Hook, can you bring something to the table about how and why McCloskey has a decent chance? I'm not having a pop but...you've said a lot without saying anything. Specifics. Not just general comments about it being boxing and anybody has a chance, I think we realize that. And without posting Breidis Prescott videos, we could post a video for every single loss a fighter as ever had but it does not really prove anything, there comes a point where it has to just be left alone and we're well past that point.

 

The only thing I can really think of is that he has decent pop in his punches....

So in essence he has a punchers chance...

 

I'd like to see how McCloskey will cope with the Mental aspect of this fight.

Fighting in hostel territory in front of 22,000 people is no easy feat.

It got to Salita in NC and the same could happen to McCloskey.

 

I was impressed with McCloskey's mentality against Lynes. Okay, much lower level but he was an underdog coming in, away from home, and he set down to his work and completely did a job on Lynes. I don't think thats going to be as much of a problem as the technical problems he'll have to face. Like how he's going to deal with Khan's length and speed, in such a way that he can 1. avoid getting hit and 2. land his own work. He's always looked a bit on his heels to me. His movement reminds me a bit of an old, fat, James Toney where he'll kind of stand there and rely on upper body movement. Which is fine, its exciting and okay in certain fights, but its not a particularly good look here.

 

I think hes decently evasive, has good/very good upper body/head movement. Whilst he is flat footed, his foot positioning and ring IQ is (in my opinion at least) much better than Khans, he usually effectively controls the centre of the ring and rarely gets cornered or caught clean. When he does get caught, he has good punch resistance. He can fight well at distance and better than Khan at mid range and on the inside. He has underratted power in his punches and has put a few guys down for the 10 count.

Is that the kinda stuff youre looking for?

 

Youre right there Laz, they dont like men from N Ireland in the many hostels in Manchester

 

But McCloskey and Maidana have entirely differnt styles. Maidana's worked favourably at times against Khan as Khan's footwork is poor when he is being constantly pressured and Maidana hits a hell of a lot harder than McCloskey. McCloskey likes to operate in the centre of the ring rather than constantly come forward in which case it's easy to envisage Khan jabbing his head off and circling around him constantly.

 

Yes, but apply it to this fight for me. You've reeled off some of his better attributes well, but you still have to mesh the two styles together here and come up with an equation that says McCloskey has something better than a minuscule punchers chance, as you seem to be implying he has a good deal more than that.

For all McCloskey's ring generalship and defence against domestic and European opposition, how is he going to avoid all of Khan's punches using only upper body movement keeping in mind Khan punches in decent volume and is probably one of the top 3 or 4 for handspeed in the entire sport. He has to not only slip the first jab, but the inevitable right hand that follows, he has to react to left hooks downstairs as well. He has to do that in the blink of an eye, when Khan can readjust to McCloskey's movement. McCloskey has the far harder job of reacting and evading compared to Khan who only has to readjust his range and target each time. That's a fairly ambitious call, to think he's going to be successful doing that. I havn't seen a special talent which suggests to me he's capable of that.

Is he a really powerful puncher? The Lauri knockout was more the exception than the rule IMO. He's mostly worn the rest down, I don't see anything that would even upgrade him into the 'decent punchers chance' category. We always talk about punchers chances but they very rarely materialize and McCloskey is not even a big puncher which dents that theory even more.

Plus offensively I don't see anything that tells me he's going to get off. I don't think he can put any pressure on Khan with that footwork. The critical aspect in timing punches is footwork and range, getting into that range to see the opening and take advantage. He can't do that. I don't think he can pressurize/stalk Khan and force mistakes, its not really his game. I don't think he's fleet footed enough to go backwards and force Khan out of his element and put on a counterpunching clinic. All I see is him stood in this half way house getting peppered all over the place. His footwork is no better than Kotelnik's and that was the primary reason he got peppered.

 

Or... Salita was just shite.


Some fighters can thrive on the atmosphere. See Arthur-Gomez.

 

Khan has got extremely fast hands, but for me that is his only really exceptional attribute, his footwork isnt great, his head movement /upper body movement is practically non existant. Khan peppers opponents fast but without much power or bodyweight behind them...McCloskeys jaw is decent.

I can hopefully see McCloskey, at times, using a high guard, and forcing his way in close, putting Khan on the backfoot, backing him into a corner and scrapping with him on the inside...where he has a significant advantage

I hope he'll either turn it into a brawl, a position that I see him beating Khan in, or alternatively working on his footwork a bit and counterpunching. McCloskey is a pretty effective counterpuncher and that, in my opinion can be brought up to a high enough standard to beat Khan. Khan always has his feet really planted when throwing combos, if McCloskey can keep his awareness of the ring, move backwards and sidewards he can draw the attack and hit Khan from angles that hes unused to.

Khan will try hard to impress his home (well nearly home...not quite Bolton) crowd, and the pressure will be on him to do something spectacular, which could increase his tendency to be reckless.

One of the best things in McCloskeys favour is the fact that Khan has never fought a decent southpaw, that in itself will give McCloskey an edge.

 

Bunce was going on about how McCloskey's "all wrong for Khan" and that if he was part of Khan's team, he would stay away from McCloskey.

Bunce's statements have made me want to put down some serious dinero on McCloskey, perhaps upset of the year, or at least after Mosley does what I think he's going to do.

 

Bunce also talked up Audley's chances.

 

bunce talks **** about khan. in 1 interview he said the only reason why khan wins fights is because he runs he's full of **** the fat *******

 

No disrespect to Bunce but his analysis of fights are total shite and whenever a domestic fighter is fighting another domestic fighter he'll always sit on the fence because he has these lads on his show. He was talking up Enzo's and Audley's chances against Haye for this reason. I don't know if he really believes all this stuff or whether he does it just to keep them sweet. Putting money on this because of what Bunce says is madness, back your own instinct.

 

It will be an absolute Salita job