Hatton v Khan who would British ESB'ers be backing?

We won't really know till Khan hits his, it seems unlikely that Khan can replicate Hatton's prime in terms of success but he has the right promoter/trainer and if he were to go on and beat Kotelnik/Hatton in the next 6 months or however long then it would certainly be worth the question.

 

Wilfred Benitiez?

Good point though, I suppose they might have perfected a chin transplant procedure by the time Khan hits his mid-twenties.

 

Yeah who knows Khan being 5'10, 140 could be a better weight for his weak chin, and moving to 147 when few years older and mature could improve further. Only time will tell :think

 

I don't buy that his chin will be any better at 140, I think his best option is to work on a style and defence that minimises how often he has to take big shots. I know thats easier said than done but.......

 

That also of course, but he will get hit. About weight improving chin, July 18th should answer some questions.

 

True, but then again Hatton has never had any defence or head movement. This isn't a new thing for him. Manny once being a flyweight is completely irrelevant because he was a teenage at the time, he is now a fully fledged junior welter and one of the hardest punchers out there p4p. The point is it's very lazy to say "Hatton can't handle speed". As I said, Malignaggi had speed, he got destroyed. Bottom line, you have to look at the overall package the fighter has not just say "well he's fast so he'll win". Mayweather and Pac had speed in addition to just about everything else a fighter could ask for. There is nothing Khan does better than either of them. Assuming Hatton is half the fighter he was, I think this fight lasts about as long as it takes him to land a solid left hook upside Khan's head. But if he fights in the interim then I'll know for definite.

 

Duran at 135

 

[quote="TKO";4324245]True, but then again Hatton has never had any defence or head movement. This isn't a new thing for him. Manny once being a flyweight is completely irrelevant because he was a teenage at the time, he is now a fully fledged junior welter and one of the hardest punchers out there p4p. The point is it's very lazy to say "Hatton can't handle speed". As I said, Malignaggi had speed, he got destroyed. Bottom line, you have to look at the overall package the fighter has not just say "well he's fast so he'll win". Mayweather and Pac had speed in addition to just about everything else a fighter could ask for. There is nothing Khan does better than either of them. Assuming Hatton is half the fighter he was, I think this fight lasts about as long as it takes him to land a solid left hook upside Khan's head. But if he fights in the interim then I'll know for definite.[/quote]

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Hmmmm... this debate has gone round and round on this board. If you view boxing skills solely as staying on the outside and picking punches off then yeah he probably is. But getting inside your opponent's shots, using your footwork, imposing your own gameplan takes skill as well and not too many have been successful in stopping Hatton from doing this. Tszyu couldn't do it, Malignaggi couldn't do it. Mayweather had to beat him on the inside which Khan could not do. Hatton is not Gairy St Clair. It's one thing having a good gameplan, which I'm sure he would. It's another for the fighter being good enough to implement it. My view is that, having seen the Gomez, Limond and Prescott fights, Khan would be unlikely to stop hatton getting on the inside and as soon as he does it's game over. Khan's problem is, pure and simple, his chin. It's terrible and IMO is what stops him having a realistic chance of winning this fight UNLESS Hatton is significantly declined. That remains to be seen, but with that chin I won't be putting my money on Amir beating any world class fighter who can bang a bit anytime soon.

 

Hamed.

 

Tyson

 

Yep, maybe Trinidad as well.

 

:good Wasn't Morales a world champ at 21 (though not necessarily peak) ?

 

[quote="TKO";4324461]Hmmmm... this debate has gone round and round on this board. If you view boxing skills solely as staying on the outside and picking punches off then yeah he probably is. But getting inside your opponent's shots, using your footwork, imposing your own gameplan takes skill as well and not too many have been successful in stopping Hatton from doing this. Tszyu couldn't do it, Malignaggi couldn't do it. Mayweather had to beat him on the inside which Khan could not do. Hatton is not Gairy St Clair. It's one thing having a good gameplan, which I'm sure he would. It's another for the fighter being good enough to implement it. My view is that, having seen the Gomez, Limond and Prescott fights, Khan would be unlikely to stop hatton getting on the inside and as soon as he does it's game over. Khan's problem is, pure and simple, his chin. It's terrible and IMO is what stops him having a realistic chance of winning this fight UNLESS Hatton is significantly declined. That remains to be seen, but with that chin I won't be putting my money on Amir beating any world class fighter who can bang a bit anytime soon.[/quote]

I agree with some of your points, But since Khan has been with Dr.Roach is overall game has improved, the quality of sparring and training has improved as well. I am sure if the fight was made Dr.Roach would get Khan the right sparring for fighting on the inside as well as working on their own gameplan of fighting on the outside. Put it like this 'IF' Khan's power improves at 140, Khan would do a Manny type job on Hatton and beat him inside 4 or 5 rounds full of fireworks because Khan's speed and reach is greater than Manny's and I back his skills and sticking and pulling off the gameplan to do the job.

The ref could be a big factor also, will the ref let Hatton fight on the inside and hold or will Dr.Roach put it in the refs head dont let Hatton hold on.

 

I really can't see it somehow. The main reason being that Khan is not one tenth of the fighter Pacquiao is. His power would have to increase substantially and I can't remember too many fighters whose power has effectively increased when they go up in weight against bigger fighters. Khan has not shown great power even at domestic level lightweight. He is not faster than Pac and in addition he does not have the power, the physcial strength, the chin, the workrate or the variety. His movement is OK, but he tends to have his chin up in the air and his combinations are basic. IMO he would have to improve in every aspect to beat Hatton, or Hatton would have to decline significantly.

The referee may be a factor, however, I don't see Hatton wanting to hold on to Khan, I think if he gets inside he'll be wanting to unleash those punches. No fighter has ever outboxed Hatton from the outside for a full fight and nor has Khan outboxed anyone more substantial than St Clair.