Khan vs. Kotelnik – What Will Amir Do If He Loses

By Dave Lahr: Whether Amir Khan (20-1, 15 KOs) deserves it or not, he’ll be getting a shot at World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Andriy Kotelnik (31-2-1, 13 KOs) on June 27th at the O2 Arena, in Greenwich, London.

The bout will say a lot about whether Khan has the talent to compete at the higher levels in boxing. Yet even if Khan does win, it may not prove a whole lot because Kotelnik isn’t considered to be the best of the light welterweight champions in the division, which is perhaps the reason why Khan was steered towards him. With not a whole to gain by beating a paper champion like Kotelnik, Khan does have a lot to lose if he should be beaten by Kotelnik, especially if Amir gets knocked out.

This would be a big hit for Khan’s because Kotelnik’s not a big puncher and doesn’t appear to have the same kind of talent that other light welterweight champions like Timothy Bradley and Kendall Holt possess. A loss to Kotelnik might all but finish Khan as a fighter and put him in the position where he would have to be content to be a local attraction only.

Khan already has been knocked out previously last year by an unknown Colombian Breidis Prescott in a 1st round stoppage. Although Khan has talked about wanting to try and avenge that defeat, he hasn’t put in a big effort to get Prescott back in the ring for some reason.

Even though Kotelnik is hardly the top fighter in the light welterweight division, he’s still a big step up from the stiffs that Khan has been facing since turning pro in 2005. Up until now, the best fighters that Khan has faced are Prescott and a faded 35-year-old Marco Antonio Barrera.

Obviously, Khan and his promoter are hoping that they can strike gold by defeating Kotelnik, but it seems like they’re both a little desperate and not clearly thinking about what will happen if Khan gets blasted out. Khan has already said that he feels that Kotelnik is one of the worst of the current champions.

It doesn’t look good that he’s chosen a fighter who Amir feels is an easy mark. Getting beaten by a fighter that is considered to be one of the weaker champions won’t leave Khan looking good if he loses. Say what you want about heavyweight David Haye going after the Klitschko brothers without the adequate experience to compete at the heavyweight level, at least Haye will have an excuse to make if he gets beaten by Wladimir or Vitali.

After all, the Klitschko’s are considered to be the best in the division, and getting beaten by them is no reason for a fighter to be ashamed. With Khan, a loss to Kotelnik may further tarnish his image even more than it already is. Khan has talent and a great trainer in Freddie Roach, but Amir has major problems taking heavy shots.

If Khan’s chin betrays him again and he ends up getting knocked out, Amir may be ready for the junk heap. I can’t imagine him being to come back from another loss. If Khan were to have to move back down to lightweight, I think the only fights that he could win are ones against the lower ranked fighters and old ones like Barrera. Maybe Khan can still make a career out of fighting just lower level fighters, but I doubt Roach would continue to want to be his trainer.

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