Khan Shows a Lot of Flaws in Beating Kotelnik – Boxing
July 21st, 2009
By Chris Williams: Amir Khan (21-1, 15 KO’s) is being showered with praise since beating paper champion WBA light welterweight champion Andriy Kotelnik last Saturday night by a 12 round unanimous decision at the M.E.N. Arena, in Manchester. Khan used his speed, movement and some good combinations to outclass the slower Kotelnik, who just looked too one dimensional to contend with what Khan was offering up.
Khan took some big shots from Kotelnik, especially late in the fight when Kotelnik began to wear Khan down with steady pressure. I don’t want to be the one to spoil the party for Khan’s fans, but Kotelnik isn’t a pressure fighter and isn’t very good at putting pressure on opponents.
Kotelnik is more of a basic fighter who likes to work slowly behind a jab and fights at a slow pace with an opponent that is either standing in front of him or is coming to him. With Khan moving a great deal in the fight, Kotelnik was forced to transform himself into a pressure fighter and as such, he didn’t do a very good job of pressuring Khan.
This is why I’d suggest that Khan and his followers not get so excited about this victory. This was a limited fighter and not one good at dealing with fast punchers or having to instantly evolve into a pressure fighter. Khan will have to face the experience of dealing with a pressure fighter when he eventually faces someone like Marcos Maidana in the not too distant future.
Compared to the easy time that Khan faced in his fight against Kotelnik last Saturday, Khan will probably feel like he stepped into a meat grinder. It won’t be easy and unless Roach teaches him some more tricks, Khan may get stopped again.
That won’t be good, because it will make Roach look like less of a genius and will burst the bubble that Roach has recently formed because of his success with Pacquiao and now Khan in the past year. I think Roach is a great trainer, but I don’t how much more that he can get out of Khan as for teaching him how to handle pressure.
Khan moved about as well as a young 22-year-old could and I can’t see that improving regardless of how hard Roach trains him. Khan moved constantly in the fight, but yet he was still forced to stand and trade with Kotelnik when he would catch up to Khan every now and then. That’s part of boxing.
No matter how much coaching that Roach gives to Khan about handling pressure, sooner or later it comes down to whether Khan has the chin to take major league shots from punchers like Maidana, Mike Alvarado and Breidis Prescott.
Roach will be trying to get more and more out Khan to try and teach him to avoid getting hit like he was against Kotelnik, but eventually Roach will start getting diminishing returns because a fighter can run only so much without tiring himself out like Khan did late in the fight or turning off the boxing fans who pay to watch his fights.
It may be that Khan handled pressure about as good as he could on Saturday and will probably fight similarly against other opponents in the future. However, if it’s a huge puncher like Prescott and Maidana with a high pressure attack, I don’t know that the training will be enough for Khan to pull out a victory over them.
Tags: 32 Responses to “Khan Shows a Lot of Flaws in Beating Kotelnik – Boxing”
Leave a Reply
please use above banner to link back to us!
Amir Khan needs fight Marcos Rene Maidan next.
khan like you,a fake!
KHANZ THE DON HE WOULD SMASH HATTON AND EVERYONE ELSE
got to agree with Oli on this one,khan will be the most wanted man in boxing,any serious contender will desperate for a shot at the most protected man in boxing
Hatton would still destroy Khan no probs.
This article make Chavez Jr (40-0-1 all cans!) look like Muhammed Ali!
Like someone said already, Kahn has had two, yes two training camp with Roach. Compare Pacquaio first fight against Barrera to now; there is a massive difference.
Kahn will improve.
dont write khan off. he can change his tactics, hes a brilliant counter puncher so madaina coming at him throwing punches would suite him. hes got great movement fast hands much improved defence and if he takes a few risks and lowers his gaurd hes got a knock out punch too.
I am with Oli on the Morales thing, that is an absolute joke, he is ancient, fat and not even a tenth of the great warrior he was snd Pac schooled him twice late on in his career.
ok kahn is pretty talented but with that glass jaw and with lots of talent in and around his weight class there are lot of guys he would be wise to stay away from.lets start from the top pacman(suicide!)bradley,holt,maidana,torres and ortiz (yey iknow)but istill say he knocks kahn flat!oh and campbell,and although hattons career seems over if he has 85% left him too,and i havent even got to lightweight marquez,valero,funeka and average punching but excellent fighter juan diaz.So take your time kahn but that just shows your not the true champ if this many guys could probably whup you!althoug dont take it to easy cause beating an old morales wont do nothing for your career.maybe fight light punching malinaggi,but that would be boring!Also forthat guy comparing him to chavez jr yey ithink there moving him slow,but he had no amatuer career so its best to take your time with him.Kahn had an extensive amantuer career and a silver medal
my feeling is, that amir, having dodged all the essential fights for a proper education …another prescott calamity is just round the corner. khan v maidana ….im afraid i cant see khan standing up to those shots.
To become champ one should have to do it the old fashioned way,beat the man who beat the man,ect!
Ukansodoff,having a belt around one’s waist in todays world of boxing does not always mean that much unless its the Rings Belt!There are far too many weight divisions and fighters getting crowned “king”too early in their development and people wonder why they get exsposed sooner or later.The fighters today can get a title shot after 10 or 12 fights if they have the right connections.(manipulators more like it!)Yesteryear fighters had 40+ fights before a title
shot even became available.
How the world scence has eroded in recent years with only a handful of fighters who are true world champions,(and Khan is NOT one yet untill the Ring Belt is honoured to him!
1 thing i have to agree with is what Khan does when under a bit of a barrage, his hands go up to his chin, his elbows tucked in (nothing wrong with that) but he just stands there.
Its not sometihng new, hes always done it, id hoped it would be something hed shake off with time and experience but its still there. Luckily Roach seems to be on the case. Teach him how to move out of trouble.
I like fighters like Bernard Hopkins,always the underdog and is now an all time great.He was NOT protected,(Quite the opposite)and he never let anyone discourage him in any way!That man is tough!
Khan too much for Ricky? lol Ricky puts on more pressure in a better way than Kotalnik does and is a much better and more accomplished fighter.I think if Ricky fights Khan nhe has a huge shopt of beating him.Now as for Khan as a fighter,I think he has lots of talent but its his chin and ability to handle a punch that concerns me.A fighter who has trouble handling pressure is one that usually knows they have a weak chin or are very gunshy!
I have boxed for many years now and have a buddy who is a talented middleweight who also has trouble with pressure fighters.The thing is he has a good chin but does not have the inner fortitude to handle a fighter that comes at you continuously and throws lots of punches.He has had this issue since day 1 and it has not improved!I’m not saying this will be Khans problem but if it is he will only go so far.If it is his problem and he still does go far,WOW,but how exciting will his fights be then?
Khan did not prove any thing he fought a non puncher with a record of only 13 knock outs out of 31 wins so its obvious to the world he was fighting a weak puncher and infact about a month before the fight Khan called Kotelnik “the current worst world champion” so even Khan knows he took the easy route.
When Khan fights a decent boxer with good power he will get destoyed,his chin is too weak and in the Kotelnik fight there was 6 or 7 times when Khan got caught on the chin and if he would have been fighting a decent puncher would have caught him he would have gone down and been knocked out.
o, and bredis presscott? didnt he get whopped in a 10 rounder by a nobody on the same night?
Khan has improved but he still & always will have a glass chin, he will never beat any major fighter. They want to put him in with Erik Morales next (Morales is finished)
Pacman meets Cotto Nov 14.
Muhammad – the Pacman already had a powerful left prior to Roach, it was his boxing that needed refinement
So is Manny Pacquiao when he first started with Freddie Roach. But then look at Pacquiao now he became a boxer puncher who thinks in the ring rather than just brawl.
There were aspects of Khan’s performance that needed to be improved, he dropped his right hand a lot more than he did against Barrera when he jabbed.
But he’s got the best trainer in the world helping him so I think he’ll improve a lot. But he wouldn’t have beaten many other major world champions with that performance even though it was very good. HE’s got to step it up even more now
Ever so slightly biased here.. Khans 22 and look whats hes done, lets compare him to someone like Chavez Jr who at the same age is fighting complete bums and has hearly 40 fights.
Khan got KO’s less than 12 months ago and came back to beat Barrera and school Kotelnik who many thought woul KO khan. Khan chin stood up much better than in the past and i think the kids way underestimed. Other than Presscot have you ever seen someone dominate Khan for a single round???
The answer is no, hes one of the most gifted boxers out there so just enjoy the fact there is someone like him to watch.. or continue watchin Chavez Jr fights..
You forget Chris Williams, that Mayweather Jr has made a huge career from out-running his opponents. Khan is fast enouugh to continue to be as elusive in the ring as Floyd and his chin need never be tested again. Yes he still has a lot to learn but no-one is claiming he is the finished article.
Can you not criticise Khan if you are British?
He’s 22 not 12. He’s a ‘world’ champ not a novice.
Of course we support Khan in fights but keep it real people. If we want to offer constructive criticism, why not?
Let’s not turn this website into YouTube with stupid, racist, xenophobic comments please.
Chris Williams, are you british? show some credit for a kid of 22 yrs old.Give him a break dude.
He is only hating on Khan as he is british.
I take it you were watching a different fight from the rest of the nation,chris?
Amir fought a fantastic fight,kept his pace through the 12 rounds answered back with an excellent barrage of “cracks in the poss” as us scots would say….whats wrong with you mate? to call kotelnik a paper champion is an insult to both fighters…and Amirs chin took a few good punches from kotelnik…not only did Amir outbox his opponent he out classed him aswell, now give the guy a break you arm chair hardman…what does he have to do to get a break from you jealous critics?
AMIR AMIR AMIR…..THE NATION BACKS YOU MATE,FU** THE CRITICS AND KEEP DOING WHAT YOU DO BEST MATE, YOU ARE EXACTLY WHAT BRITISH BOXING NEEDS.
As negative as this article is ignoring the good points you’ve put in of how he won, it’s very true…and thats coming from a Khan fan. I was imagining Khan in the ring with a fighter like Hatton, no matter who thinks what of Hatton after losing to Pacquiao…he piles on a ridiculous amount of pressure in any fight and i was wondering when Kotelnik was actually closing in, how would Khan cope if it was Hatton?
To be honest, i think that Roach set the game plan for Khan to defeat Kotelnik…and whoever Khan fights next im sure there will be a game plan to stick to in that fight too.
I’m expecting him to take a mandatory defence before setting up another fight with someone.
For anyone who hates Khan incase you might read this comment, try losing a fight in 50 seconds then coming back and beating Barrera (no matter how shot he was or if it was a cut that stopped the fight) and then go on and become WBA Light-welterweight Champion.
What do you expect chris.
Khan is 22 Years old. He’s got a lot to learn and will only get better.
Granted, Kotelnik wasn’t the greatest champion, but he still had a good record and he’d never been knocked down. His 2 losses both being split decisions.
Junior Witter struggled massively against Kotelnik being lucky to escape with a victory. So the fact that han arguibly won all 12 rounds shows that he’s definety one to watch.
Been waiting to see what this guy would have to say about it, and …..
Im a little surprised. Apart from the obvious sour grapes, Chris has made some decent points. However, Im not convinced that Khan can not hone those defensive skills further, and as for stamina, remember that this is only the 2nd time he’s gone 12 rounds. Dont rip him apart, and dont mug off Kotelnik with that paper champion nonsense. The guy, whilst not in the league of your Hatton’s (3 years ago) Bradley’s or Junior Witter’sof the world, I think he could more than handle the bulk of fighters in this, lets face it, somewhat mediocre devision.
I hope Khan can develop, and I’d like to see Chris Williams write an article which wasn’t just sensational, antagognistic nonsense. You nearly did it this time……nearly.
Why so negative?
Im not a khan fan but give the lad a bloody break.
You could not do 1/100th of what that young man has achieved so far. Your a biased arm chair expert.
I see where you come from Chris, but lets throw a dog a bone here – Roach has only had two serious camps with Khan, and in each camp there has been marked improvement, theres no denying that.
Also, with more bones than a cemetary, at 22, and in front of an eager home crowd Khan managed to handle the pressure of the occassion relatively well, and ven when caught showed above decent defensive skills.
Obviously the chin issues will, for all intent and purpose, follow Amir around for his entire career, and til he gets properly blocked on the button we wont get a real picture of how deep Roach’ influence runs, but surely within boxing avoiding being hit is as much a part of the game as hitting, and whilst Khan did get a few grazes against Kotelnik those occassions were few and far between, as Freddie said in the build-up “You cant hit what you cant see.”
So I share your trepidations over Khan, but I also share a modicum of the confidence his trainer has in him, now lets only hope the matchmakers give us the chance to see which side the coin lands, yours or roach’s side