Khan - Peterson: The Flow of the Match

Regardless of who you had winning, I think we can at least agree that this was a genuinely great bout. A lot of ebb and flow, and two contrasting styles, with each man attempting to take control of the match right until the end.

Peterson fought really well. He maintained solid, consistent pressure, used a lovely body attack all the way through the fight, and roughed Khan up on the inside. Khan's lack of defence on the inside was once again highlighted -- he was getting caught with the uppercut, the hook around the guard, and he was being softened up by those constant body shots. Peterson tried to box at first, but there was a palpable change at the end of the second round...he started coming forward and putting pressure on Khan, walking him down, which is exactly what Gomez and Maidana did in their fights against Khan. Khan is a boxer who loves to stay at range where he can use that jab and handspeed, but when you start forcing him backwards and making him fight in the pocket you have a great chance at taking him apart. Peterson seemed to be looking for a left-hook counter to the head in the early stages (exactly as some predicted before the bout) and then adjusted his strategy and turned his attention to the body.

Khan really needs to work on his inside game. He also can't just run around the ring like that -- it gives the other guy confidence. He needs to learn how to stand his ground and work on the inside, as well as tying the opponent up in a more effective manner. I WAS glad to see that he was using some bodyshots of his own, but he was clearly losing the inside war. Peterson was getting hit coming in at points, but he was also able to shell up and absorb a lot of Khan's flurries. The rounds Khan won were often down to workrate, where Peterson would settle down a little and Khan would simply look like the busier guy.

Another thing -- Khan needs to also stop this approach of 'passive defence'. (I think that's the term Roach used after the Maidana match.) Sitting on the ropes (or even in the middle of the ring) simply holding your guard up is a bad idea against a good fighter like Peterson. There was more than one point where I actually thought Peterson would floor Khan, because he would sometimes get Khan to the ropes, move slightly back, and unleash a haymaker right around Khan's guard. It just keeps coming back to Khan's defensive flaws -- he's too stiff and predictable. He doesn't have the professional tricks of rolling with shots, creating space in subtle ways, locking the other guy's arms up to stop him from getting weight on his shots, being able to defend himself while keeping his vision clear, etc. It's also a case of footwork. Khan has decent footspeed, but it's not educated. Compare the way someone like Marquez moves and boxes to the way Khan moves and boxes -- the former constantly turns his man, with short, balanced steps, always ready to counter, while Khan seems to literally run backwards with big, almost panicked movements, and he constantly got trapped against the ropes.

One positive point for Khan -- I think he really dug deep and managed to win the championship rounds. Even though he'd been battered to the body and had kept up such a high workrate, he was still able to win the last few rounds on my scorecard. He even won the final round, although that was ruined by the point deduction.

A rough attempt at a scorecard:

(Keep in mind that I don't usually score fights, so I may well have made one or two mistakes here.)

1: Khan 10-8 (extra point for knockdown)
2: Khan 10-9 (close)
3: Peterson 10-9
4: Peterson 10-9
5: Khan 10-9
6: Khan 10-9 (close)
7: Peterson 10-8 (extra point for pushing deduction)
8: Peterson 10-9
9: Khan 10-9 (close)
10: Khan 10-9
11: Khan 10-9
12: Even 9-9 (due to another pushing deduction)

Now, I gave Khan those close rounds, but I could see people giving them to Peterson or scoring them a draw. Either way, I think those two points that Khan lost for pushing were basically the key in the fight. They tipped the balance in Peterson's favour. (Although you could also argue with Khan's extra point for the knockdown in round one.)

I'm hoping that this is the turning point for both men. Khan needs to realise that he cannot consistently win against the best guys with his current style -- he needs to become more flexible and well-rounded, or he'll always struggle against decent pressure fighters who can work in the pocket. Peterson, on the other hand, will hopefully be recognised for his abilities now that he's beaten a top name. I hope both guys go on to have a great career.

 

One of my favourite parts of the fight. I haven't seen consistent, good quality body work like that in a long time. He surely slowed Khan down with that assault, and that was probably why Khan had to keep shelling up and taking breathers.

I just hope he doesn't focus too much on the referee and the point deductions. (Which he seemed to indicate during that post fight interview.) He needs to forget about that and focus on actually addressing his skills in the ring. Roach should spend hours upon hours refining his work in the pocket and his defence as a whole.

 

Yeah, I can understand why he was upset. It's a shame, because he gave a good account of himself in that fight, but might have turned a few people against him due to those rash words in the interview.

Hopkins giving Khan pointers would be great. I just wish there was a way for him to get long, consistent lessons on defence, though -- Roach is a great, intelligent trainer, but he seems to specialise in offence. I'm not sure how much he can do with Khan in this particular area.

 

I was actually wondering how to score that round. I had Khan winning it, but then the deduction sort of cancelled that out. I assumed it would thus be 9-9?

I had a look at the official cards, and they seemed to give the same score for that round: http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/peterson-kahn-scorecard-104081