Amir khan is the man to beat @140..

Well until he goes against some punchers, I don't think it makes sense to say he's hardest guy to beat at 140. He's clearly being protected. They wouldn't be protecting him if they felt he was so hard to beat.

 

:good Excellent post.

I think right now Khan is far from "the man to beat" in 140. He does have the tools to be just that in a year or two tho. Gotta see how it all plays out, I wouldn't count him out of a fight with any of the top guys in the division.

 

The Barrera fight was just 6 months after he was blown away by Prescott! A time when the world laughed off his chances of ever becoming a world champion. Nobody at the time was complaining about a Barrera fight.

Salita was a mandatory. And yes I admit, they didn't need to think twice about taking him on.

But how can you not regard Paulie as a top 10 LWW? Yes he's not a huge puncher, but he bought plenty of other things to the table which Khan previously had not dealt with before (slickster style, handspeed, movement etc). He fought Paulie at his own game, embarrassed him in the process, and stopped him in a manner that no one previously had done (something which no one on here gave him a chance of doing). Oh, and this was his first ever fight on US soil.

JMM is another opponent who not long ago (I’m talking after the Mayweather fight), who many here predicted would still be too much for Khan. Fast forward a win over Salita and Paulie, these very same people are not so confident in JMM. Something’s obviously changed.....mainly Khan’s development! I now see the exact same thing happening with Maidana. Today he’s a fighter who’ll knock Khan’s block off, but tomorrow (after Khan notches up a few more sessions with Roach) he’ll be a bum who has no place in the ring with Khan.

As for Morales, I must have missed this :huh. I know he was considered about a year ago, but I've not read such a thing recently.

The rest of the division can develop as quickly as they want. It has zero no influence on the route Roach will take with Khan.

 

and zab

 

I understand where you coming from, for sure Khan has to face these guys but boxing is not all about being able to take a shot, ala Ricky Hatton and his face first defense. I prefer boxers when in the ring are able to avoid taking shots in the first place, no greater modern day practitioner than Mayweather Jr. No-one questions Floyd's ability to take a shot but prefer to marvel at his defensive prowess. Ask yourself this, how long would Devon or Bradley last taking shot after shot in the face from Maidana? I ask, 'cause pre-Roach this was pretty much the total of Khan's defensive ability.

 

Kahn is still Kahn...and Roach is not god.

 

Correct, but is Kahn the same boxer now? Has he improved under Roach, yes or no? And I'm not asking about his ability to withstand being hit on the chin, which for some perverse reason is considered the no. 1 attribute for a boxer by most people in the U.K.

 

PunchDrunk,

On this forum when you hear someone say "I want to see how Khan takes a flush shot from a hitter", he/she means "I want to see Khan get knocked the f*ck out".

These people know full well Khan can't take a shot from a big hitter. They know he's working on a defence that won't allow him to get tagged so easily (as you've just alluded to), and when he does eventually fight and beat the Maidanas by outboxing them at a distance, these very same people will come up with the excuse "Khan's a *****, he can't stand and trade for ****"

 

We're not going to know how good he is at avoiding these shots until fights some guys with a good offense. Marquez is a good start.

 

Exactly. He's not a monstrous puncher, but he will find Khan's chin. But if Khan prevents him from doing so, it's a serious testament to his improved defence, and he'll be that one step closer to fighting the best of 140.

 

I hear you, unfortunately, some people are so blinded you just have to spell it out for them. I sometimes wonder how Khan would have made out if trained by Enzo Calzaghe, but then again, apart from his son, which other boxers trained by him went on make a truely global impact.

 

True :deal

The man to beat?,,,IMO Khan still has work to do before being considered the man to beat at 140lbs.

Being trained by Roach and the fight with Paulie in the Garden got peoples attention,boosted his popularity.

Thats all.

 

i disagree. while i am an amir khan fan i DO think devon alexander would beat him. khan just seems to be too predictable and i would expect a good counter puncher like devon to make him think twice about throwing all those straight shots.

 

Agreed, Marquez is a good start and he has been mentioned as a future opponent towards the end of the year I believe. Although some people have been complaining about him as a choice of opponent and he should face Maidana next. Wonder why? The way some folks go on, Khan should be tossed in straight away with the likes of a Klitschko to really test his punch resistance!

 

Sorry, but Bradley and Alexander beat him, and Maidana might do the trick as well.