As Soon as Khan Steps It Up Again, He Loses
March 18th, 2009
By Scott Gilfoid: Maybe I’m one of the few writers that see Amir Khan’s (20-1, 16 KOs) 5th round stoppage win over the cut up Marco Antonio Barrera (65-7, 43 KOs) as being an empty one, because the victory was an empty gesture. Khan was faster and better than Barrera, showing that he could beat Marco after he was cut from a head butt. Many people already though that Khan would be too fast for Barrera going into the fight and it was hardly revealing that he was able to dominate the smaller Barrera.
It was a good punch, there’s no question, but it wasn’t in the league of the kind of shots from fighters like Marquez, Prescott or Ali Funeka. Heck, I could name a dozen top tier fighters that could punch harder than Barrera in the lightweight division and if Khan had been hit by any one of them, I don’t see him recovering from it.
What surprised me was how convinced Khan was afterwards that he was back from his 1st round knockout loss to Breidis Prescott, as if the victory over a pretty much faded 35-year-old Barrera had healed Khan’s glass chin overnight. Barrera ends up getting his head cut in a head clash with Khan in the opening round and is then forced to fight with cut that would have probably caused the stoppage of the fight in most places in the world.
Not on Saturday night, though. I would have liked to have seen Khan try to fight with a similar cut himself for five rounds and see how well he does. My guess is he would be like wounded duck, running around and trying to avoid getting hit again. At least Barrera gave a good try before the fight was eventually stopped by the ringside doctor in the 5th.
I hope Khan enjoys his victory while he can still can, because from the sounds of it, he and his trainer Freddie Roach have plans on Amir challenging for a title in the near future. I can’t wait for that to happen, I really can’t, because as soon as Khan steps it up against a quality fighter and not a compromised older fighter, you can forget it. Khan has no business fighting any champion from what I’ve seen of him.
It was sad to see him so delusional about the bigger picture of what had just taken place. Instead of being able to put the victory in perspective, seeing that he had beaten a smaller, older fighter without much power, Khan seemed to jump to the conclusion that he was ready to shut up his critics.
I think Amir needs to sit down and have a good look at his fight with Barrera one more time, and then immediately take a look at footage of the better fighters in the division, some of them that he’ll possibly be fighting if he’s at all serious about wanting to fight for a championship.
If he goes into this with his eyes wide open, he’ll see that he’s better off avoiding fighting for major title and sticking to the local level where the going is much easier. I wouldn’t recommend him challenging for the European title either, because even they might be too.
If his chin was better, I’d say go ahead and take one of the lesser titles but it isn’t and he’d only succeed in getting knocked out again. Khan’s chin is like a fragile egg. If you protect it by putting in a carton and keeping it away from being hit hard, it won’t break, but if you jar it all of a sudden, it’s going to go to pieces on you.
That’s why Khan needs to forget about challenging for a title and stay clear of any of the champions for another five to seven years. Hopefully, as he ages his chin might get a little better somehow. I doubt it, but maybe it might.
Tags: 39 Responses to “As Soon as Khan Steps It Up Again, He Loses”
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why do you say fokin?
To answer aff, jealousy isnt the issue with Khan, he is just another Audley Harrison! He came out of the Olympics with a deserved silver and had the world at his feet, but his career has been overhyped and the Khan name over-branded, because of this he has been unable to live up to the expectations that his people have made the fans believe. It will take more than a questionable decision over a badly cut fighter in a bout that should have been deemed a no contest to change the minds of the fight fans.
and if you any respect at all for the ’7 times, three weight world champion called marco antonio barrera’ you would be listening to what he has said about the fight. he said he was butted and the fight should have been stopped on the first round and he didnt even feel khans punches.
so stop pretending to have great respect for him.
the fight was won on cuts yet some of his fans seems to think that makes him a hero. dont think so. barrera was treated like dirt, how dare he take credit for the win
amirs a fraud and everyone knows it
name one British fighter to have stopped a 7 times 3 weight boxing champion of the world named Marco Antonio barrera the pride of Mexico and futurehall of famer?AMIR KING KHAN.AS FOR HIS FANS WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO CHEER HIM NOW ARE WE,JUST STOP SLAGGING THIS FIGHTER WHY DOES EVERY ONE HATE HIM?simple pure jelousy
That’s because Khan sucks as*.This guy should stick to fighting bums.He would get murdered against the top fighters.He’s pathetic and couldn’t even hit a 1 eyed wounded boxer.If the cut to Berrera did’t happen Khan would have been KO’s somewhere around round 7 or 8.
sorry should have read “not known as punchers”
I think Khan would have won on points, Barrera doesn’t really get knocked out. The man is as tough as nails. I think Khan would have kept Barrera at a distance and used his speed to pull off some combos.
I have to agree that the fight should have been stopped earlier. It was clear Barrera’s vision was impaired and after a round or two it should have been stopped as a no contest.
Khan’s jaw is fragile, I think he fears power shots more now. I know I would after such a destructive defeat.
I think though that this makes Khan exciting to watch. I loved Tyson back in the day but there came a dull inevitability that he would win. The moment he became vulnerable his fights were interesting again as you wouldn’t bet your life on the outcome.
I wish Khan all the best and will watch with great interest. As with any decent or great fighter out there, Dawson, Pavlik, Cotto, Mosely. We are in for some exciting times.
M
“As soon as Khan steps up again, he loses”…. yeah ok mate. And you love to use the linguistic technique of Hyperbole don’t you? I was can “badly” staggered in the second round?
I agree that Amir does have a glass chin which comes along with fantastic boxing skills but so did Errol Graham, Tyrell Biggs and Marvis Frazier. The lad may become the next Audley Harrison. Yes he has a win over Barrera who was cut but he was wobbled by Limond and Gomez also Barrera caught him blind. I am a massive boxing fan and I have his book which was given to me and won’t read out of principal due to the fact that how can he write an autobiography already. The other bone of contention for me is that the Prescott fight showed one hungry and the other already got it. At the weigh in Prescott had the same T shirt that he had worn on a documentry and I also noticed he lived mostly in a gym on the floor and trained with minimal equipment. Khan turned up with his sparkling watch on and entourage and alraedy looked like a thirty fight veteran champ with all his money in the bank on show. What I am trying to say is that Amir has already had it given to him to quickly. The new gym is fantastic for kids but fighters work years and years for this amount of money and fame. Prescott was always going to win and the next mexican, columbian, puertorican etc.. who needs to feed his family will only be to pleased to knock Amir’s head off. You need to be hungry in this game and not given too much too soon like Audley was. Khan has already gone down this route and he will only become a fringe contender but at the same time I wish him all the best.
I just do not understand the Khan Bashing, a 21 year old kid leaves home and wants to take on the world and all he gets is knocked for it ,,, what would people rather he do , stay and fight 40 nobodys in manchester ???? he wants to be world champ and is doing what it takes to do it , if he fails so what at least he tried ,, he is exciting to watch , he wants to entertain so lets just sit back and see if he can do it ,,,,
this kid is dammed if he does and dammed if he doesn’t
must fighters his age are still wrapped in cotton wool
and” john.e” barrera had not been too the olympics and won a silver medal lets compair apples with apples
Scot.d is bang on with is comment,Barrera had defended his world title six time at khans age naz was head and shoulders better than Khan but met a young fit Barrera and the rest is history,Diaz or Marq would knock him out as would a good half dozen of the top rank fighters i watch
boxing on a world level and yes its great if a boxer is British like say hatton but whether a fighter hail from Bolton or tin buck two the best man will win.
IM A BRIT AN I HATE KHAN BARRERA WOULD HAVE KNOCKED HIM OUT COLD IF KHAN DIDNT HEAD BUTT KHAN IS OVER RATED AN HE WILL LOSE WEN HE HAS A GD FIGHTER IN FRONT OF HIM KHAN IN HIS HOLE CARRER HE HAS FORT OLD PEOPLE DEN WEN HE FIGHTS A FIGHTER IN THARE PRIME HE GETS KNOCKED OUT!!!
cut or no cut , i will say it again , the next big punch from anyone will find khan back down the drain!
aye scott, my dad can beat up your dad
your in sooo much pain arent you scott buddy, girlfriend run off with a brit? nah your too much of a negative to have gf, try and lose the negative attitude then maybe one day
I an nit up anyones A*S or a racist i base my comments on what i saw. Firstly barrera is 35 and at the end in truth and came up a division to engage with khan. Barrer during his fights with morralas and Naz would have took khan out , irrispective of coming up a division to do it.He is a natural fighter through and through and even though he should now be ot of the game and only watching it ; however his fighting temprement and pedigree makes him take fights such as this oneand receiving a very bad cut in the opening round due to a head but did NOT do anything for the aging legendry fighter Fact.S o critic or not i personaly believe it did nothing to prove khans status and until he can share the ring again with prescot or Marquez and prove me wrong my view will not change. So all you who believe he is ready to take on the world, make sure you put a couple of grand on him to win then see how you feel when he losses LOL .
Think everyone would agree (biased anti-brit opinions aside) that other than a questionable chin, the guy has the potential to be a phenomenom (hope i spelt that right).
Khan has to sink or swim now though, he can’t fight any fighter below Prescott’s standing in the sport.
Before the fight it was said that it was make or brake for Khan (Get a day job if you lose) the pressure he was under must have been bad…..especially fighting a boxing legend like Berrera!!
I think it would have been a matter of time before Berrera KO’d Khan.Khan couldn’t do sh*t to Berrera and Berrera had only 1 eye.The fight should have been stopped in the 1st or second round.Khan is nothing special and a healthy Berrera would have beat him senseless.Even Berrera said he could barely feel Khan’s punches.
Khan should fight Barrera again in mexico this summer for sure as the bout should of been called off in round 2.
I dont think anyone thought Barrera was going to take the first half of the fight, i would love to see what would of happened if the cut did not happen but it did and thats boxing for ya, If Khan was any sort of great fighter he would give Barrera the chance to even the score after all what has he to loose if he said he thought he was going to knock him out within 2 more rounds, Be a man and offer him the rematch.
If thats to much to ask, Khan should just fight Marquez or Diaz next and have his career ended be either 1 of them in style.
khan should fight both prescott and barrera again, then go forward remember it was a tiny willie limmond that nearly knocked khan out last year.
another victory for khan! but is it a classic? nope!!! his victory with barrera doesnt shut up his critic at all as he might be thinking. Yes he dominated barrera AFTER the head collission.
god the nuthuggers are really crawling out the woodwork today arent they. throwing your money away following this great pretender.
never agreed with Scott G before this article, I will hold my thoughts about khan till i see him in the ring against a seasoned fighter. all he has had is journeymen and and fighters at the end of there carrer. See how he does againt marq of diaz if he can beat them then he is the realy deal. but cant see that happening.
scott d ,what drugs are u on?i could do with some!!!!thaxton murrey is that all you know.fk thaxton and fk murrey,khan has just destroyed a legend ,(as everyone was saying up to the fight)in mab okay he is not in prime,but could murrey or thaxton have the balls or the right to face mab,i doubt it?khan may get koed by big boys but at least he will have tried
Khan needs to fight prescott again and win to restore my faith in him
Khan would have won on points or even won by a ko due to him working Barrera down. He was to fast and accurate for marco to handle. Kahn may have a weak chin but his defence has improved greatly as was shown for this fight. He isnt going to be a world beater after one fight but at least he is building his confidence up and god knows good boxers need confidence. Kahn will most probably have 2 more c/b class fights and then a title shot. He just has to keep that chin in!
were u bullied at school by a brit by any chance scott? lol
by the way. chins dont improve, make all the excuses in the world khan fans because he’s going to need them. he was fasting, he’s weight drained, he was caught cold, the tactics were wrong for the fight, ive learned from my mistakes. funny that last one becuase he was clinging to barrera for dear life in there. i didnt see him learning from his mistake of having a china chin at all and barrera is a tiny little man.
i wondered how long it would take this bias-american prick to start knocking another Khan.
Can’t even be bothered to read this tripe. Anyone who watched that fight could see that Khan was absolutley killing Barrera and even without the cut he was going down.
How long until the Tyson Fury knocking will start Scott?
Gilfoid has a point though, like it or not. Barrera is at his best at Featherweight and Khan did win the fight because of the cut, simple. Yes he dominated the fight for the 2 mins before the cut happened, but thats not to say he could have hit and run all night if Barrera could see him to chase him. I also think Khan could have won the fight if he could get in and out all night, but if Barrera got an opportunity to clock his chin, it may have been all over.
At the moment, as i understand it(and i may be wrong because the various alphabet title websites are very slow on updating), Marquez is the only title holder at Lightweight, Campbell lost his WBA, WBO and IBF title because he couldnt make the weight, Pac gave up his WBC title because he has no intention of fighting at the weight in the near future, so for Khan to be a title holder he has only one option. Will that fight be made next for Khan? I doubt it, Ukansodoff has had his own mini campaign going on for Khan to fight for a British title, i cant see that happening either. Im just not sure where he goes now. I still say rematches with Prescott and Barrera are the way to go, get through them then challenge Murray and Thaxton, get through them and go for a world title.
Is Mr Gilfoid totally up his own ass or what?! Every article he writes puts down britons….fair enough they might not be the best in the world at the various weight categories but a better structured article showing both positives and negatives would be far better. Bet he’s a short man too, short mans syndrome
Khan would have won but still, all this fight proved was that Barrera is over the hill, he was 35 and made the jump to lightweight, a better fight for Khan would have been Thaxton or Katsidas, natural lightweights with knockout power. Khan knew that although Barrera ‘s washed up his name alone will catapult his status (unfairly).
khans only problem is he cant take a punch and he dosent like getting hit but he has more skill then pretty much the whole division so we all may as well set back and see how far he can go after all its all about hit not get hit at the end of the day.He needs 2 learn to hold after getting hit and byding a few seconds it would be aboring sport if all fighters could take a punch and top prospect didnt get knocked out
Khan looked better than Barrera even before the cut came. Barrera should retire now, as he seems to cut real easy these days.
Im convinced Khan would of won this 1 had the cut not happened anyway. And i agree it should of been stopped and called a NC in the 2nd round when it was clear there wasnt too much his corner could do about the blood and it wasnt going to stop pouring into his eyes.
I sorta agree with Scott, Khan is guna struggle in and around the top 12 of the division. He has more skill than alot of them but theres more to it than skill, youve gotta be able to take a punch or 100. You cant go through your career speed punching your way through every fight. Your guna get hit.
Some people are going over the top and forgetting that even though Barrera is a legend he was not a legend for being a lightweight. Khan fought a featherweight with a bit of a belly. he had every advantage in this fight.
But i dont want to take away much from Khan, He looked sharp, clinical, his defence was great, he was fast, basiclly he showed hes got real boxing talent and is learning and he believes in himself. Who ever is opponant he deserves credit for his part in the fight.
the fight should have been stopped in the first round and a rematch sorted out, it was a joke i don’t feel khan would of won if it wasn’t for the cut.