Is Amir Khan good for the future of boxing in Britain?

The only reason Mitchell lost his hype was because Khan emerged on the scene and he (kev) took a backseat in the SN pecking order. I remember him switching over as someone who won the senior ABA's at 21 (was it?) There were training montages and all sort on the fight school programme.

"And I do think that all fighters usually need one pro loss to learn from." - this is true to an extent. A fighter needs to be brought along properly, anyone who is thrown in too deep too soon can receive a career ending beating, not in the injury sense, but mentally. See, for example, Jeff Lacy. Or even David Reid. Neither of these guys reached potential due to over exubarent matchmaking.

Khan is 21 (!!) years old at the moment, he has years ahead of him to develop and hone his skills. The potential is there, yes he needs to learn things but thats where work in the gym comes in. Jamie Moore's defensive display against Mathew macklin was masteful, but then compare it to his defensive display agianst Michael Jones (in their third encounter).

If Khan has 10,000 fans and 9,000 of them never watch another boxing match after he retires or loses, then surely we're still 1,000 up. Boxing is on its arse at the moment, you just need to look at the misc sports coverage on TV compared to boxings coverage. Also, have a dig around for figures for magazine purchases. Boxing Monthly & Boxing News have really really low buys, even compared to random (and i mean really random) other magazines.

If this kid form Bolton can promote the sport of boxing and entice new young (and old) people into the sport then all the better. I know quite a few casual fans who wanted to see Khans fight on the sprott harrison undercard, and accidentally saw Earl Kastidas, now if that doesnt interest the casual fan in the sport, well, what will.

 

No no, my theory isnt based on factual numbers. It was a simple estimation to demonstrate that even if 10% remained it'd be better than nothing. For what its worth I think Amir Khan has brought more than 10,000 fans to boxing, the increase in kids joining gyms alone was immense following his olympic success.

A lot of people fail to also take into consideration that Khan is in essence serving his apprenticip as a pro fighter, like many mexicans do, as appose to serving it as an amateur. He can only beat whats put in front of him, and therefor we divert our gaze to his matchmaker*.


* As a side im happy with his choice of opponent thus far in his career. Very few face worthy opposition in their first 11 fights, Willie Limmond is a more than acceptable opponent for a 12th fight.

 

I don't follow Amateur boxing that closely, but when these people on this thread say 'he beat p4p the best am in the world', are they refering to the Kinderlan rematch? If they are I don't know how they claim that was anything resembling a competitive boxing match and keep a straight face.

 

Very true......that was nowhere near Kindelan at his best

At is best Kindelan would school any form of Khan (future Khan)something rotten. he beat him comfortably in their first fight before the olympics.

BUT there is no way he threw the fight for money or anything else like that. Kindelan is a great in terms of boxing and as a man. He is loved by his fans and the cuban ppl like a god, and it is not consistent with this nature to accept money for losing at the end of his career when he could have jumped ships and made millions as a pro at any time for a decade before. If you see his house in cuba, you will know he doesn't even need the money.

I honestly believe Khan can get to legitimate world title level and not face anyone near the same class as Kindelan, and thats maybe where the percived arrogance comes from.

Kindelan schooled Cotto and beat Tito comfortably

I am officially a Kindelan nuthugger

here is his record

http://www.geocities.com/pedrinet/kindelan.html

 

does anyone feel we are pressing the issue to early.

in reality if he wasnt famous before and just sadly didnt go to the olympics(for some strange reason) we wouldnt be having these convosations.

the guy for all i know and respect is that he is the full article he has the power ,the speed ,the technique(that above all is amazing he can do many
things with his hands) ,tall long reach, great defence, and has fought the type of guys you want him to fight...fighters not brawlers but men who want to have a scrap for pay and outboxing them is a perfect learning experience.

punchers and slick boxers will come.

 

Work it out. His riches are rooted in his amateur career. This is pretty standard for all boxers i.e. Leonard, Ali, Harrison etc

After that you keep getting more and more money, bonuses, incentives if you keep winning. Guess what Khan is 11-0! That certainly is proven to a degree at pro isn't it!

It's true though. They don't just hand out Olympic medals. Harrisons says this because he fought in such a weak amateur time. Khan on the other hand was in a hot division and in about a year faced the best P4P amateur in the world THREE TIMES.

Harrison has been a competent pro. About top 25. This is respectable, or does a fighter have to be great for you not to hate on him?

The worst thing, is NOTHING you say about Khan has any logic or substance. It's just pure hate i.e. his chin is ****. If someone says why, you are left clueless.

Leave the kid alone and let him grow. All the naysayers stopped hating when he annouced he is fighting for the second most prestigious domestic belt. Amsterdams hatred on the other hand knows no boundaries!

 

I voted yes and no. It could be positive or negative really. Whether he turns out a hype job or not, its raising the profile of boxing in Britian which is very good. But for a guy who has won only 12 fights and not faced any real quality yet, the hype is way too much. But thats more the medias fault than Amir's.

Hopefully it will get a massive generation of British boxers interested in boxing, right in time for 2012 Olympics

 

Regardless of whether or not he will prove to be a world class fighter, hes provoking mass media interest in the sport. That means more money and more skilled athletes who choose to box which can only be a good thing on both a domestic and world level for the future.

 

Mate,

Khan is going to be good for British boxing. The hype comes from the Oylmpics, and therin lies the problem for Khan. When Brittish fans think of Oylmpic boxing they think of that bugger Audley Harrison. I'd like to take a clip at that wanker meself.

 

Just wondered what peoples opinion would on this now

 

I'd say he's done pretty good.

 

Yes & No.

Yes - he's done very well for himself bouncing back from Prescott defeat. Has obvious undoubted talent and has got alot of younger fans into boxing.

No - 'retirement' date by the time he's 28. So whilst its conceivable he could get his dream fights before this time, the mark of a true champ is to show your longevity and stay on top for as long as possible. Also his fallout with sky is just petty. He should have seen from 1-2 years back that with Haye due to retire by the time he's 31 (another premature retirement date), Froch not having long left in his career, he would be the poster boy for sky to milk millions out of. The move to primetime is only hurting him in the longrun, although i dont doubt him and sky will kiss and make up sooner or later.