Thus far, is Amir Khan an over achiver, or an under achiver?

golden retriever.

 

Former unified champion....i'd say he's achieved as much as the hypewagon around him suggested he would back in those early days and he could go on to do more.

 

He's over-achieved imo.

I watch him fight and am genuinely amazed that he's beaten as many good fighters as he has. He does almost everything wrong technically, has an awful chin and has still beaten guys like Maidana, Paulie, Kotelnik, Judah etc (Peterson aswell imo).

 

over achiever in terms of his desire to fight

I always got the sense he under achieved with his amount of dedication and studying of the boxing craft. It's like the fame went to his head, and his priority became that of a celebrity, to entertain, instead of improving his skills and winning.

He admitted to dicking off too much in LA after his move to Hunter.

 

Based on his skill-set and the flaws he's been cursed with, he's definitely an over-achiever.

 

He's done more than most could dream of,given so many promising amateurs amount to nothing nowadays.
I'll go for over achiever.And if it wasn't for his inability to engage his brain before speaking,he'd be a lot better thought of than he is now.

 

Over achiever. People like to talk about his resume but he has rarely looked good in his big wins.

Maidana beat the **** out of him and he basically got through by the skin of his teeth with a little help from the ref, hanging on for dear life while semi conscious for two rounds, then people talk about how his chin can't be that bad.

Barerra and McCloskey were non events, Judah didn't even try.

Everyone else he beat were perfectly made for his style - small, unambitious, light hitting opponents who basically can't win.

He is a perfect example of an over achiever!

 

Just STFU and **** off already atsch

 

When he was given a title shot at Kotelnik, I thought it was way too soon for him to be holding a world title and that, because of the box-office tag hastily give to him, they were having to rush him quicker than normal. That period between being an insanely reckless prospect getting knocked out, to going over to the States to mixing it with the best in a higher weightclass, was incredibly quick. And unfortunately, the success gained from that -- especially after the Maidana win where he peaked -- went to their heads and made them neglectful of the flaws that were still ingrained in him. It's true when they say during the good times you become ignorant of the bad things. And that's what happened with Khan. He seemingly improved with his offensive game and felt no need to work on his defence.

It had to take the PEDerson and Garcia fights to bring them back to reality.

 

No, this is a gross exaggeration. He drops his hands and lunges into his combinations. Serious flaws, but he doesn't do "everything" technically wrong, that's absurd. His punches aren't looped, his jab comes out straight, he turns into his body punches, he doesn't cross his feet, his stance is balanced, and his guard is decently secure on the defensive. Moments of recklessness are what do him in, but Roach gave him an excellent stylistic framework to work with when he follows it. Kotelnik, Malignaggi etc. are sound performances.

I was just thinking to myself now, maybe Khan was rushed. He's a great physical talent with a solid amateur & Olympic background, and he's what, 26? He should be reaching his peak within a year or two. Given the time he should have been spending in the gym improving on his style beyond the 6-week training camp, it's impressive he's been beating the fighters he has been with such a lack of technical improvement. He plateaued before the Judah fight IMO. So I do agree with you that in a sense he has overachieved somewhat in that sense.

But for a guy his age, hopefully coming into his own for real with Virgil, he's right where he should be. After a few key losses, if he improves to his capacity, he'll be at the perfect stage to try and conquer 140.

 

what a stupid question.

anyone at that level of fighting is an over achiever.

 

He's underachieved on what I expected him to do when he turn pro, that's for sure.

Has he overachieved on his talent, perhaps, not sure on that. The only time he won a fight I thought he'd lose is the Maidana one though, and that's with a clear indication since Prescott, maybe even Limond of some of his weaknesses, so not so sure I'd go as far to say overachieved

 

Slight underachiever.

He became a former unified champion and has won some big fights (and got conned against Peterson, and had that not happened we probably wouldn't be here right now because the Garcia fight never would have happened), but there was definitely the potential for more.

He might have a weak chin, but there are other fighters in the past (Hearns, Lennox Lewis, Wlad Klitschko, etc) who overcame dodgy chins to have very good runs, and at times appear close to being unbeatable.

For a man of Khan's physical gifts: awesome hand and foot speed, good stamina (never folded or wilted from Peterson's supposedly incredible body attack), solid power when he chooses to sit down and place his shots and now throw flurries, even some body attacking ability (evidenced in the Judah and Maidana fights), he has underachieved. His only problems are a lack of ring I.Q. and a suspect chin. He's never been destroyed by any featherfisted guys, but his KO losses easily could have been avoided if he had trained in a different style and shown more intelligence when hurt.

Simply put, he kind of thought he was a fast brawler more than a boxer for awhile, and thought that way. I suppose a little of it came from training with Pacquiao for so long. I also think his natural confidence perhaps made him a little careless and willing to trust his handspeed and solid power to carry the day, even if he left himself open and made defensive lapses when exchanging with guys. But a person of his hand and foot speed, not to mention his stamina and height/length, shouldn't be trading or brawling to begin with. He should be trying to maximize his advantages and minimize the risks to his chin.

And then, there's the fact he instinctively tries to swing back rather than hang on and ride out the storm when hurt. It makes him entertaining, sure, but it caused his demise vs. Garcia and nearly did so against Maidana. It might be difficult, but this is a correctable problem as well (Wlad used to swing back when in danger, but after Corrie Sanders destroyed him for doing that, he seems to have realized that's not a good idea; today's Wlad would have hung on for dear life in that situation.)

In short, for someone of his amateur pedigree, physical gifts, and flaws that could be concealed/worked around to some degree, I think he's underachieved a little. It's too bad he never trained with Emmanuel Steward, I think Steward could have brought out the best in him. I think Floyd Sr. could have helped him as well.