Why Is Khan So Ridiculed?
April 22nd, 2009
By Gary Burns: Amir Khan has been handed a shot at WBA junior welterweight champ Andreas Kotelnik this summer but the backlash on Khan has been quite phenomenal. Boxing fans around the world have been quick to jump on Khans back saying he is taking an easy route to becoming a world champion.
In my opinion I feel how Khan has been packaged and promoted has a lot to do with it. Hyped to the highest possibility and then exposed when he took a step into the unknown against Prescott. The boxing public saw straight through the hype. Yet we are still told he is the “next big thing”.
What has become an issue in boxing particularly in the last decade are managers and promoters over protecting their fighters. It is fair to say that management know that if their fighter gets beaten they have less of a chance making it financially in this business.
The result of this is fighters taking the easiest of routes possible to world title fights. If they win they will take the easiest of defences possible. The more time they can stay undefeated the more likely they will eventually get the big purses for big fights.
Hatton and Calzaghe had to wait until the latter parts of their careers before they could demand huge paycheques. The result unfortunately for the sport is often that the best do not fight the best which is guaranteed in almost every other sport.
What has also become an issue is television companies and promoters tendency to put fights on pay-per-view that far from warrant it. In the current financial crisis that has hit the globe value for money is something that has become a concern for the boxing public. People are willing to shell out money for a fight.
No problem. I will pay for Hatton-Pacquiao any day. But Khan-Kotelnik? Forgive me for wanting to spend my money on a few pints instead. I think it will be an ok fight but it is far from pay-per-view quality.
Every manager wants the best for their boxers. They want to make as much money for them as they can and of course look after themselves along the way. Brian Peters, Bernard Dunne’s promoter did a similar thing when matching done against the lesser of the super-bantamweight champs in Cordoba but why then did Dunne not come in for the same criticism?
Dunne was criticised by his fellow countrymen after the Martinez shock similar to Khan after Prescott. So why was their not a media back lash against Dunne? Because the fight was given to the national broadcaster RTE and was available to everyone free of charge in Ireland anyway. The fight turned out to be a contender for fight of the year as it happens.
Boxing has always been a business. More so than any sport boxing is all about the business. Fights will only take place if the business deals are done. Everyone knows this. What the powers that be in boxing have done is made the sport secondary to the business side of things. The business of boxing has become the boxing of business. It is just another way to make money and unfortunately the sport will not benefit from his style of match making.
I have not mentioned Khan in this and I do believe his personality adds to some of the criticism towards him but boxers are notoriously confident and cocky. Khan is no different. All the paying public want is for him to prove himself first before we part with what little money we have left!!
Tags: 16 Responses to “Why Is Khan So Ridiculed?”
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Mark why bring in the race card. not one person has siad anything about race but yet idiots like you bring it into the topic. Give it a rest you are the sort of people who give boxing a bad name. Im Guessing your the same race as khan?
Khan is full on over rated in my books, hes defo gonna get knocked out in hes career again no doubt bout it. :/
its not his falt but english people just dont like asians and asians wont pay to watch anything,so whos his fans?.and as a boxer he has got only one weakness (hit him on the chin and he goes down)
suggest you check your history. Have a look when Toney last fought at super-middleweight and what weight he was actually fighting at when Calzaghe was making a name for himself.
As for Tarver, LMAO. The guy achieved less with his considerable mouth than JC achieved with his fists. What he achieved with his magic mouth was considerably more than with his fists though. Which rather says it all.
*Sorry for 2 posts, pressed enter too early.
Sham,
Calzaghe would have been happy to travel to the USA for a bout with either, but they had nothing to gain from fighting him. It was a no lose situation for JC, but not them.
That’s mainly why the fights didn’t happen. Money also played it’s part – Hopkins was offered very good money to come to Wales then upped his demands to silly money – but money wasn’t the be all and end all of it.
If you think it’s incredible that JC never got in the ring I
Khans mouth together with his arrogance coupled with the facts that he has done nothing to back up the hype him and his management have built..that he constantly faced weak opposition and shamefully ducked his way to the top (even barrera was cherry picked)…and that it is plainly obvious to see that khan is not a world class figter and never will be….throw in the fact he is asian (it is an issue for many brits whether it is admited or not)….and these are the reasons why Amir Khan is disliked in this country.. simple
HERE we go Again!!!!!! The f!!king race cards back out of the pack again.
Look most of those lightweights are going to move up anyway so khan will face them then
Khanz a kid give him more time, his only 22 and you all want him in against the best? He hasn’t developed fully and still has a way to go, and i laugh when people say that they wont pay for Khan’s fights, the man has entertained in every single fight, stop hating because he is of different race and get behind the kid!
He’s had too much exposure too young…if you hear and see someone too much you begin to tire of them. You combine this with the fact he’s continuosly stating he’s a world champion without putting in the fights makes it more annoying. I do think he is a good fighter but needs to learn humility first, which I still dont feel he has learnt from the prescott fight. He needs to stay out of the spotlight and concentrate on boxing as he’s still really young and has ample time to develop into a great boxer. Nowadays everybody wants to be a champion as quick as they can. Its only going to end up one way..on their arse on the canvas.
Who he think he is trying to say he wants hatton next ha ha u can only dream why waiste a fight when u only got 3 left pac man diaz maywether jr. Not u kahn if ne 1 it would b cotto.
I agree with Cuba (to an extent)
You cannot ignore the fact that Khan’s ethnicity plays a influential role in him being disliked by many of the British public. Being hyped up by the media is only part of it.
Look at the way Calzaghe and Hatton were brought through the ranks, BOTH were protected in the same way Khan is. In fact it took Calzaghe to get to the age of 35, and 45 fight in to his career for him to grow a pair of balls and fight in the US. When he eventually did, he fought over the hill and miles past their primes Hopkins and Jones. Joe is a perfect example of a man who could and should have fought better opponents, yet he’s lauded as being the greatest boxer in the modern era. Why aren’t people hating on Joe for having such a false accolade????
Another example is the current Hatton vs Pacman build up. Skysports, UK writers and most notably Ricky himself, have described this matchup as the ultimate decider for the mythical P4P title, and should he when, Ricky will be regarded as the best fighter on the planet. Despite the fact that he is nowhere in the same league as others who are rightly in that category (Mosely, Cotto, Williams, Manny, Marquez etc). This is the bull the British media and Hatton have feeding the public. Yet is he being hated on???? No!
It’s always the case, the British hype machine propels its prospective superstars into things they’re not, and people buy in to it. However in Khan’s case, they for some reason refuse get behind and support him like they do/did with Ricky and Calzaghe.
last article was why is khan hated so much/get off khans case for fk sake,
And moreover why should Khan be bothered about fighting thaxton or Murray? What is he going to achieve by fighting them? critics cannot be silenced.Thaxton himself said that sometimes avoiding people rather than fighting them is the best way to reach to the top. Critics dont even forgive fighters like Calzaghe and de la hoya…what do you expect Khan to do in his short career?
From Bruno to Lewis to Hamid to Calzaghe no one seems to be getting any due credit from British public what so ever….On the other hand Hatton is already a future Hall of fame amongst British public and if Froch somehow manages to beat taylor he ll be the next contender for future hall of fame….:)) I wonder why…?
Khans being knocked so much because he’s been in the limelight since he won silver in Greece which brought him masses of attention and fans, and unfortunatley the ignorant masses in Britain (the non typical boxing fans) dont realise that it takes more than 10 fights to win a world title. If Khan hadnt won silver in the olympics he’d have entered the pro ranks the same as any other boxer does, we’d only have heard of him recently and everyone would think its wonderful that he’s got a world title fight.
It is a easy way but luck how many more chances u get when u have got a belt round ure waiste. End of the lad using his head. I aint fond of him but fair play.