Amir Khan will only have my full respect...

The Dubstep P4P crown is probably worth more than the WBA to be fair!!

I think a few of the posters on here are being a bit pedantic, clearly if he beats loads of other class opposition then his position is clearly cemented. But it is so ****ing unlikely with Warren as a promoter then the fight with Prescott makes sense.

Of course if Khan beat Morales, Bradley, Hatton etc. the loss becomes irrelevant. Prescott can be dismissed as the wrong fighter at the wrong time etc. (think Haye v Thompson) I can completely understand that.

However, I think we all know that if Khan does win, Warren will put him up against a load of bums that will do nothing but lose Khan respect. Therefore, from a realistic approach, the Prescott fight is a must.

Hope this counter-argument makes sense.

 

BTW my intention was never to say Khan would not have "any" respect if he didn't beat Prescott. I clearly didn't make myself clear enough. For me, he has a lot of respect for the way he has conducted himself after the loss. However, in my opinion, the nature of the defeat has to be answered for him to be credible.

I believe a fighter should always look to avenge his defeats unless boxing politics gets in the way. That is the only understandable excuse.

 

Well this where we differ, because I think a Prescott rematch is the only way he will command full respect, from me and certain other boxing fans. I think this is a clear example of just two boxing philosophies clashing. I'm of the opinion that all fighters should look to avenge their defeats, and barring a complete demolition of a division (which would suggest a fluke defeat that may not need to be avenged - Haye, Pacquiao etc) this leaves my opinion on Khan a little bit tainted.

I'm not asking anyone to agree with my opinion, or assume that I rate my opinion as the definitive strain of thought, but I think I have presented it in a way that is fair.

 

Fair question. I said I was a bit of a hater because I don't think he deserves to be where he is. He is undoubtedly a class boxer and as a British fighter I am naturally inclined to support him and will do. However, I'm always conscious (rightly or wrongly) about how our boxers are viewed by the educated boxing community. At this point in time, I can't help but think Khan is where he is due to good management and not necessarily exceptional boxing/heart etc.

With regards to David Haye, I think it was after Mormeck that I thought this man is the real deal. In the grand scheme of things, my respect means nothing - it's just a subjective ideal. But when Haye beat Mormeck, it was fairly exceptional because he "beat the man who beat the man", clearly cementing his position as world class in the division. At that point I felt like Haye had proved his fight with Thompson to be a case of inexperience and that he had achieved redemption.

Khan can still do this, but I'm a bit skeptical as to whether or not he will. I'm not silly enough to suggest that if Khan beats Pacquiao, Hatton, Bradley etc. he will still not command my respect - of course he would. For me, it was the naure of the defeat that makes it so necessary to avenge. Haye's defeat stank of immaturity and inexperience, Khan's defeat just stank.

 

Not at all, I reckon my use of the word respect has just skewed my point. Basically, you come to expect certain things from certain boxers. Khan is billing himself as the hottest prospect in the world. He is therefore planning to be "elite". I struggle to see how he will ever be considered elite if he doesn't avenge the defeat he suffered against a fighter who most of us agree is quite average. Perhaps my topic should have been "Amir Khan should only be considered elite if..."

If a boxer most of us consider to be European class gets KO'd by a world class boxer, then you say fair enough - he wasn't good enough but he never said he was. When a boxer is saying he is going to be the next best thing and then won't avenge a defeat to a supposedly lower class boxer, I consider his career to be slightly hollow. An elite boxer should be looking to beat everyone.

I'm quite enjoying this debate because I feel like I'm defending my original point whilst also owning up to a few mistakes. My overall point is that your expectations vary depending on the quality (or the assumed quality) of the boxer in question. Khan has billed himself as the second coming of Sugar Ray (slight exaggeration but you get the point) and therefore should avenge his defeat, either in a rematch or in dominating the division.