Khan thinks he’ll be the Next Big Star in Britain – News
July 6th, 2009
By Chris Williams: With only two weeks to go before his huge match-up against World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Andriy Kotelnik on July 18th at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, Amir Khan (20-1, 15 KO’s) predicts great things ahead of him if he can beat Kotelnik, and thinks that he can be the next big star in Britain if he can get past the 31-year-old Kotelnik, according to Sky Sports.
That could be true, but Khan will not only have to beat Kotelnik, but will have to do it in a convincing manner for the British public to want to see Khan and Hatton go at it in the ring. If Khan struggles against Kotelnik and gets knocked down two or three times, I kind of doubt that the boxing public in England would want to bother seeing Amir fight Hatton. It would be a fight where there would be a high potential that Khan would be knocked out.
While British boxing needs a new star now that Joe Calzaghe has retired and Hatton is getting up there in age, it’s unclear whether Khan can move in to be the guy. Beating Kotelnik might “open a lot of doors” for Khan in the short run, but unless he has the chin needed to beat fighters like Hatton, Timothy Bradley and Marcos Maidana, those doors may be quickly slammed shut in the face of Khan.
Now I think Amir may have a good chance at beating Kotelnik, who probably should have lost to Maidana in his last fight in February, I don’t have the same feelings about fights against Bradley, Maidana and especially Breidis Prescott.
Unless Khan can beat those fighters, his dream of being the next big think in the UK will be nothing more than a pipe dream. A fight against Hatton should be Khan’s next goal if he can get by Kotelnik, because once Khan is forced to start defending the WBA title against challengers, things become much more dicey for him.
Khan will have to hope that his chin will be able to take the shots of the light welterweight contenders who hit harder than the lightweight division that Khan is moving up from.
Khan thinks that when he eventually gets to his prime, whenever that is, he’ll be able to compete with fighters like Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez. I actually believe Khan and do think he’ll be able to compete with them.
However, by the time that Khan hits his prime years, which should be in another five to six years, Marquez will be 41 and Mayweather will be 38 or 39. I can certainly see Khan beating them at that point. However, if Khan makes the mistake of fighting them anytime before then, I don’t like his chances one bit.
Even taking those fighters out of the equation, Khan will have his hands full with Bradley, Maidana, Prescott, Kendall Holt, Victor Ortiz, Randall Bailey, Junior Witter, Devon Alexander, Nate Campbell, Juan Urango and Mike Alvarado.
Khan can possibly beat some or all of those guys, but I’m not certain about that unless his chin holds up to the pounding they will give him. These aren’t opponents that can be beaten with gimmicks like right hooks, catch weights or running that Freddie Roach could dream up. Khan will have to gut it out if he wants to beat those guys.
Tags: 31 Responses to “Khan thinks he’ll be the Next Big Star in Britain – News”
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Khan is freddy roachs next super star
matt you just don’t get it do you khans been down more times than Paris hilton Naz made £40 odd million with 13 world titles fights and he could take a shot!! and the yes naz lost to barrera who was at the top of game not wash up like when Khan fought him!!and you’ve got a short memory m8t cause there was no bigger pussy than khan rolling round the floor when prescott smack his glass chin
and who,s fought more bums than khan with warrens ducking and diving camp. warrior no hype up yes.
john e, get used 2it m8, cuz the man khan is gnna clean house! i find it hard 2listen 2some1 who thinks “NAZ” had any talent, he just had 1shot,ill reapeat that, 1big shot, which knocked out bums, barrera ripped him 2shreads man, i mean killed him almost, thu his punk ass between the ropes….. the guy was such a fagg he quit after that!
warrior no, pussy yes……. end off!
john e,do u know anything about boxing,naz had the most padded record in boxing,had to listen to his bull for years then first class boxer he fought beat him that easily,he was a showman who couldn’t back up his words,no wonder he did a runner and as for khan,he got the worst chin in boxing,he been down 7 times already,fast yeah but thats it,a none puncher like willie limond had him all over the place
matt have alook at naz’s fight record mate!! and he put bums on seats he would have killed Khan,i don,t like him
he can’t keep his gob shut he got fast hands yes but a glass chin which will be his down fall all the true boxing fans know it!!! he keep shouting about how big he,s going to be well the i,m not fool by this one trick pony FAST HANDS yes but world class lets see.
kahn is the quickest boxer ive seen in recent years besides manny, he will be the no1…… calzaghe is just johnny slap a lot, all he does is slap guys for 12rounds and wins on decision! hes really predictable and very annoying to watch!
john e: NAZ, cmon m8, thats guys was a complete joke! thats a cherry picker right therem 1st decent boxer he fought he got whooped by, real bad aswell! then he quit.
also he should be wearing a nappy over his face coz that’s where the crap’s coming from
Khan and Warren might be able to fool the public, and fighting a big name albeit ageing Morales would help. But with Khan’s arrogance, he’s never going to endear himself as well as Hatton did. Khan winning his first world title would definitely win him fans, but he will have won it from someone Khan himself has slated to be the worst world champion around.
matt it all one big load of hype khan been down 5 or six times with cherry picked fighters the shit whats written about him does my box in he,ll never been as good as hatton or naz its all a big Frank Warren circus show if’s he that good then get him in with one of top fighters (diaz,marq,cam,pak,) because every time he opens is trap the gabage he comes out with is bollocks.
Khan will be the next big star by beating Ancient Erik Morales.
Oh dear matt anyone with eyes can see kahn is not the best fighter since lewis.
He is NOT better than calzaghe and hatton even if he is past it now he has won alot of world titles, kahn is also NOT better than david haye and isnt better than froch all of which have won world titles some at two different weights.
It makes me laugh you say he is prob the best because of his “smartness” he wasnt very smart when he jumped in hands down against a big puncher and got sparked in under a minute was he.
Smart is the way calzaghe outboxed a very dangerous kessler and destroyed at the time a big punching and favourite for the fight lacy, no getting knocked cold in a minute.
I really hope you’re right matt w but you’re forgetting the Prescott fight isn’t the only time Khan has been down. He was down in the second round against a blown up Michael Gomez. Khan looks like he’s come on a lot since the Prescott fight but it’s only a matter off time until he gets caught again.
kahn is without a doubt the best british boxer in recent years, maybe since lewis! based on skill and smartness anyway, his hand speed is bloody stupidly quick, hes accurate and moves well around the ring.
He got caught once, just once by a very good shot, ok he had his hands down which was a mistake on his behalf but he was just dreaming in the 1st 30secs, thats all! any1 would have gone down having been hit like that(by prescott) hes now got the best trainer in the world and will always have an perfect game plan when entering the ring…..
Im telling you all, khan will be the next boxing legend to cum out of UK, if he fights hatton he do exactly what manny did to him, wipe the floor with him!
Good article for once Chris.Im not British or American but some of your articles in the past have been racist.Stick to articles like this one were you dont take nationality into your opionion of a boxer but base your opionion on what you think of his ability.You will gain more respect from the people who view this site that way.
honest and well written article chris, if you dont bash us brits or whoever else and give an objective piece of writing it comes out better, not just racist sh*t like gilfoid and liebermann
in terms of skill & handspeed khan is capable of competing at the highest level, the only aspect of his game missing was defence, roach has hopfully sorted that.it is not his chin that was the problem but his over eagerness(& inability to keep his hands up) to get the job done. getting ko by prescott could prove to be the best thing that could happen to the man.
i can see him winning titles at 3 weights and being in some of the most exciting fights of the next 5 years but he needs to ditch frank warren and move to america asap.
i have never warmed to amir but cant deny he has an incredible talent and i strongly believe he will beat up on kotelnik and in the future beat the best guys out there.
Very good article totally agree with you! Khan needs to stop mouthing off and actually prove himself in the ring!
I think amir khan will avenge his only defeat. And will beat the guy in a convincing manner.
If he can get past kotelnik then there are big things ahead for khan.
Personally i would rather see him fight junior witter, rather than ricky hatton.
Khan vs witter… then witter vs hatton. Assuming witter knocks out khan, and i dont assume anything else could happen. Your never going to see amir khan knock out junior witter lol. His punches are so soft! Ask barerra
Fury is the most promising british star at the moment, and Jefferies also shows great promise. If Bradley Saunders turns pro I think he could go far (not to be confused with Billy Joe)
Maidana? Kotelnik beat Maidana….
Khan could beat Mayweather, Paquiao, Marquez, hell even Muhammed Ali.
The public would still jibe him, it’s not down to his boxing ability i’m afraid.
The British mentality hates winners, or people who have the will to win, always have and always will.
alister manny was stoped with body shots not head shots. big diffrence
Manny was knocked out twice earlier on in his career and it hasnt done him much harm since he has been trained by roach has it.
Ha ha … he should fight Barrera again? Are you kidding me? He might as well get in the ring with my old man pops!
khan is alway nassem. wait until he gets in the ring with latin americans or mexicans. we will see then. he should fight barrera again. he is a classic fighting machine and a world great in my eyes.
khan gets knocked down two or three times?what drugs is this writer on ffs?kotelnic bless him aint knocked out shit before or now ,khans gonna destroy this chump
freddie roach doesnt lie.who ever fights kahn will have trouble even landing a clean punch. prescott is in the past. amir is the real deal. u will see
I think there will definately be a world class british star coming up to take the world on very soon and it is not the much hyped amir khan, i think our next superstar is our british welterweight champion kell brook. I do think amir khan has the tools to become a world champ but not so much a global superstar like hatton, calzaghe, naseem, benn and eubank in the last 2 decades.
Khan would get knocked out by Kentikian!
Im strugglin to believe this is a Williams. Im strugglin to believe Williams of all people has more faith in British Amir Khan than i do. There will be a sting in the tail here somewhere.
Id love for Amir to become all the things he craves, i know hes guna work as hard as humanly possible to give himself every chance of becoming a superstar.
But his chin wont let him. Im hopin a move up in weight where he can put less strain on his body could pack a bit more resistance in his chin but ive seen too much evidence already to suggest its ever guna be strong enough to cope with life at the top.
He may get past Kotelnik with his superior speed and skills but he cant avoid a period of punishment for ever, not at the level he wants to perform at.
I dont think ive ever wanted to be proved more wrong by a boxer im a massive fan but for all his talent and heart he has his achiles chin.
chris for the first time ever i agree with you , and that was good article mate, stick to the non biased stuff !!!!! keep it up , you ll get more respect from us brits
khan can talk, shame he cant back up what hes saying im british and khan wont be the next big thing he thinks silver at the olympics has paved his way to greatness, not long before he gets put on his arse again i think, and fighting for a the worst boxing assosation title is a joke i think even if he wins it its a joke title anyway. he will never face top class opponents they would knock him out in 3 rounds.