He showed great heart and that he has the mental resilience to stay with it in bad moments... however, as was hinted at in the malignaggi fight, there are serious limitations to his technical ability that many of us in the boxing community forget/ignore/oblivious too, all because he has amazing hand speed. As i've said before, unless he changes his attitude towards boxing, begins training more than just the 2/3 times a year for 8 weeks, then he simply isn't going to resolve these issues. As it stands, he's world level, can mix it with his peers.. but he certainly wouldn't be able to step up to that "upper world class" pool of fighters, your Cotto, Mosley's, Margerito's of this world, and definately not Mayweather or Pac.
I think Maidana’s smarter than a lot of people give him credit for. There were times when he was inviting Khan to go for his body. So if Khan went to the body regularly like you suggest, Maidana would have learned to time him coming in, even with his earmuffs on. Remember that first punch that Prescott rocked him with? That occurred when Khan attempted a left to the body. It’s a pretty dangerous commitment to make when your chin is as weak as his.
2010 was a one off. It was only due to a switch in promoter and poor planning by his handlers, that he only managed two fights last year. Prior to that, he fought more regularly. It's extremely difficult for a fighter of his standing to be able to more than three times in one year. And considering his 'limited boxing ability' and dire chin, he's done pretty well to even mix it in at world level, and be in contention with the very best in one of the most talented divisions in boxing.
of course there is a risk going to the body but it was only way khan was stopping him. It does not say much for Khan if you think he should not work the body for fear of getting sparked! :yep
The way Khans feet lead him closer into danger the more punche he throws in a combination, he should learn to jab and move, be boring as ****, otherwise he will not have a long stint. I've said this **** loads of times, he is not a particularly talented boxer-mover, he's an aggressive fighter with little power and vulnerabilities. An Olympic pedigree just not mean you're a gold pure boxer, he hot through the Olympics as an offensive whirlwind based on natural handspeed!
I suppose it may have helped if he went to body in the 2nd and 3rd - where Maidana was still recovering and not able to unload his own bombs. But from about the 4th and 5th, Maidana would have began anticipating them better. It's at that point where Khan would be putting himself in serious harms way if he continued with them. It just doesn't say much about his defence. At the moment he's too open. Once he learns to protect himself a little better, he'd be more free to go to the body.
If he had kept banging away I doubt Maidana would have still been there in the 5th. My point is Khan was scoring with flurries but continually getting caught with hard shots. At other times, he was standing in front on Maidana swapping punches and eating uppercuts. So he's taking those punches when the reward is only to score points. If he had went downstairs more, sure he's still going to get hit but he's giving himself the chance to get the KO. When a fighter goes down from a body shot, how many times do they make a full recovery? The answer is never if you keep hitting them there!
You could say that about a lot of boxers.. "consider Maidana's poor boxing ability he's don't pretty well to mix it in at world level". Maidana does it through being able to bang. Khan does it because he has something better, obscene hand speed. It doesn't take away from the fact that technically they are not particularly great boxers. It's not the number of fights I'm referencing in regards to his training. He fought twice in 2010, in 2011 he will fight 3 times I imagine. But this isn't the problem. It's his attitude towards his development. He trains like a champion nearing the end of his career, he goes to LA to the wildcard to work with Freddie in the 8-9 weeks prior to his fights. It just isn't enough if he wants to go to that next level like he says he does. He needs to move to L.A. Sadly, this won't happen, because like most people he wants to be home, back in the UK he has a life, his friends, and all the rest of the stuff that comes with fame and fortune. It's not his fault, the very thing that pushes boxers to achieve greatness is wanting out of their current lives and wanting better.. when you have a life you enjoy and already have the riches.. your not too eager to leave it, who would be.
Emanuel Stewart also chimes in on the matter http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ot...ling-boxing-says-trainer-Emanuel-Steward.html
i would say what steward said is bang on,if he can get outjabbed at times as he was in later rounds ,by a plodding banger like maidana,what would someone like bradley do to him,bradley is a fast brawling ,but accurate boxer. i really think we have seen khans limit at world levelthumbsup