I'm pretty sure you're relying on that prediction based on the stoppages of McCloskey (More so the Lauri fight). You need to understand that it was a completely different fight and a different person. Do you honestly think Khan will be a non-entity for them 8 rounds? No, of course not. If anything, he'd be the one to stop McCloskey. McCloskey having his hands down against a fast combination puncher like Khan is like putting a hand in hellfire. Firstly, he's never dealt with speed like Khan's, power like Khan's, and one who is a real athlete. If your argument is that his reflexes and 'Mayweather like defence' will help him avoid them blistering punches at that piston jab of Khan, then I think you'll see a lot more than you can take in on the night. Khan will just overwhelm McCloskey. McCloskey isn't exactly a pressure fighter either (Pressure is needed to beat Khan), he's more of a counter-puncher and I don't see how he can get to Khan, really. Fact is, McCloskey won't outbox Khan. I doubt he'll be able to knock him out, either. Oh, and I've heard plenty of Irish-men say that Barry Morrison is a bum. Well remember, it took McCloskey 7 rounds to finish that bum, and it wasn't like he was splat unconcious on that Canvas either. I wish McCloskey the best, but he'll be fighting a losing battle on the night.
Not all of us said Khan would win. And we don't think he's invincible. We just think he's a better fighter than McCloskey. That's all.
Not too sure about that. Even Laz was having doubts about Khan beating Maidana. Didn't you predict Maidana to stop Khan?
The Lauri fight was Dudeys worst performance so far....though he still got a KO...you are completely wrong in that assumption. Youre right Khan is a different fighter...he has fast hands...but no real KO power...he has dubious punch resistance...you drastically overrate Khans power. Prescott wasn't applying much pressure...Khans arrogance and stupidity lost him that fight in embarrassing fashion. McCloskey will capitalize on Khans weaknesses...thats what will happen come fight night...can either fighter win...of course...but my money is on McCloskey. Nobody (that Im aware of) said Barry Morrison was Sugar Ray Robinson...though Maidana is hardly Sugar Ray Robinson...and Khan was very lucky to come through that fight....and by the way Khan has never put anyone "splat unconcious on that Canvas" ever! :good
Why are McCloskey fans expecting Paul to be facing the same Khan that faced Presscott? That will have been practically 3 years ago, a different weight division (Roach said it himself, it was a miracle he could make 135lbs, hence weight-drained), too much weight-training and 6 six fights ago of which 4 were world-class opponents. Has McCloskey ever faced an opponent remotely of Khan's class before? Dont' talk about unbeaten records, they mean jack. As for him ko'ing Khan, Paul's KO record isn't exactly stellar (~55%) against mediocre opposition and Khan did show that his punch resistance has improved significantly since moving to 140lbs, especially facing Maidana (~95% ko record). I would think that sparring with the p4p no.1 in the world who also happens to be a southpaw is more than adequate preparation for McCloskey, unless of course McCloskey is superior to Manny in some regard...... Roach said it himself, McCloskey is going to get overwhelmed come fight night. I only hope that McCloskey has not been training expecting to meet the Amir Khan of 3 years ago, if he has been, any possibilities he may have had (<30%), he'll have blown even before he steps into the ring.
we're not expecting the same khan as 3 years ago, obviously he's improved greatly as a fighter since then however the knockout is something that should be relevant and should be taken into consideration by anyone who is reviewing the likely outcome of the fight. similarly the mccloskey - lauri fight is relevant when assessing mccloskey's chances
When the build up for this started I wasn't overly confident of a McCloskey win, I thought he had a decent chance but the head was telling me that Khan would reign supreme but as it's getting closer to the fight I'm relly confident that McCloskey will win.
No-one is discounting McCloskey, Roach & Khan won't be but there is a reason why Paul was chosen....... McCloskey only has a puncher's chance, he wins by K.O. (and he's not got devastating knockout power) and that's it because there is no way he can outbox Khan. He just doesn't have the skillset or speed (either hand or foot). Either he catches Khan with a lucky punch as Khan gets careless or Paul gets stopped on accumulation after being totally outclassed for 7-8 rounds.
I disagree, I believe he has the skillset to beat Khan and I also believe he is capable of outboxing him. I think the McCloskey win will come by way of TKO and in getting the TKO he will need to outbox Khan. I concede that Khan is also well capable of outboxing McCloskey but I think McCloskey will have his day. I don't buy into the arguement that the only way to outbox Khan is to out pressure him. I've actually come to revise a lot of what I've thought about Khan over the lat few weeks. Undoubtedly he's very talented but I feel that he can be a bit two dimensional, he's very good at throwing fast jab combinations and getting on his bike but I don't think he's as elusive as people might think, I don't think he's great at moving off to the side or slipping punches. I reckon McCloskey will control the centre of the ring and if he can keep his hands up for the early rounds and keeps his right foot on the inside of Khan's left foot, he'll cut of Khan's running game. We all know that Khan can throw them jabs but it's very hard to throw a fast jab when your on the inside and your escape route is blocked, this is when McCloskey's shoulder rolls, head movement and counter punching will come into play. I think it will be very tight but McCloskey is well capable of doing it. Obviously Khan will bring his own ring craft into play and it'll be interesting to see what he'll do to counter McCloskey's style. In my opinion throwing fast jabs, taking a step back and circling to the side won't be an option so I'm looking forward to see what Khan will do.
No one is expecting Khan to be like when he faced Prescott, but the Khan that faced Malignaggi and Maidana was readily hittable. Who are the 4 world class opponents you speak of...surely a ridiculously old, overweight and worn out Barrera cant be included!?....or is the mighty ***an or Salita now world class? Khan barely survived a 10th round onslaught (the fight could rightly have been stopped then) and this was after Maidana was severely hurt in the first round...and not hitting with anything near his normal power. Khan looked less shaky than expected in the chin in that fight, but the fact someone as relatively slow and one dimensional as Maidana was able to get in and hit him so often should be nothing short of worrying for Roach...that and the fact that he deviated so far from the gameplan. I thought Khan wont now be sparring with Manny (as Manny's team dont want him to apparantly in case they're to face each other in the future)....so he'll have to find someone else to spar with. I think the whole sparring with Manny thing hasnt happened very often at all. We'll see what happens on fight night! :good
1. Kotelnik 2. Malignaggi 3. Maidana 4. Barrera (as unfortunate as it was, in the way it played out) With all due respect to Paul, all of these four are a level or two above him. Yes, even a faded Barrera. And Maidana may well be relatively slow and one dimensional. But what he lacks in these areas, he makes up by being a relentless, powerful, tough-as-nails machine, that's got a seriously good offensive artillery. He didn't destroy the hot prospect Ortiz and push the world-class Kotelnik to edge by fluke, you know. If you put a fighter like that in against a fighter that's as weak-chinned and as vulnerable as Khan, it's inevitable that you'll get what you saw in the 10th round. Maidana, and other aggressive fighters alike, will always present these problems to him. We forget how much of an awful burden a jaw made out of glass can be. You should be bringing the 10th round survival up to commend him, not criticize.