Khan vs. Kotelnik Likely to Be Postponed – Boxing News

By Chris Williams: Lightweight Amir Khan (20-1, 15 KOs) may have just got a big break with the news that World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Andriy Kotelnik (31-2-1, 13 KOs) has an infected tooth and will possibly be calling off their June 27th bout at the O2 Arena, in London.

For Khan, 22, this may be a life saver for him, because the 31-year-old Kotelnik will be big problems for him when they fight and by possibly canceling their bout, it will let Khan hang around for a little while longer as a top lightweight contender.

If the fight does turn out to be canceled, the word is that Khan may fight another last minute substitute opponent – read: soft opponent – if one can be round that is light-hitting enough. The last thing that the glass jawed Khan needs right now is another big puncher like Colombian Breidis Prescott, who made Khan look silly in knocking him out in the 1st round as if he were a school boy.

Since that fight, Khan has been matched very carefully and has been put in with journeyman Oisin Fagan and the faded and undersized Marco Antonio Barrera, neither of which had enough power to crack and egg at lightweight. Although Kotelnik isn’t much of a puncher either, but it doesn’t matter because with his good chin, Kotelnik would likely be able to stay around long enough to tap Khan’s brittle chin and knock him out when they do fight.

The cancellation will help Khan’s trainer Freddie Roach as well, keeping him still thought of as a genius for a little while longer until Khan fights Kotelnik and gets knocked out. When that happens, Roach may end up being seen in a more realistic light by boxing fans. After all, Roach isn’t the one that takes the shots and throws the punches.

Undefeated Lamont Peterson (27-0, 13 KOs) has been mentioned as a potential opponent for Khan. I highly doubt that Khan would be put in with Peterson, even though the light-hitting Peterson is flawed and is far from a world beater. He still is probably much too dangerous for a fighter like Khan, who other than his controversial five round technical decision win over Barrera, had no victories over opponents in the class of Peterson during his career.

I think Peterson, and especially his brother Anthony, would beat Khan no matter what strategy that Roach came up with to try and beat them. In the end, Khan would still have to have a good enough chin to take their shots and I can’t see that happening. More than likely, Khan takes on a journeyman fighter in his mid to late 30s with high number of losses on his record.

The really bad part about the Khan-Kotelnik fight being cancelled is that unless a replacement can be found for Khan, the other fighters on the card – Matthew Macklin, James DeGale, Frankie Gavin, Billy Joe Saunders, Matthew Hall and Anthony Small – would have their fights cancelled. Those fights might end up being much better than the Kotelnik-Khan fight.

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