Does criticism of Amir Khan reflect widespread racism in British boxing?
February 9th, 2010
By Kwame Cinquez: Amir Khan’s decision to switch to the United States in order to further his career was lamented in the Guardian newspaper by their chief boxing writer Kevin Mitchell. He was in no doubt as to the reason for Khan’s departure, “the racists here who cat-call him from the cheap seats and spill out their bile anonymously across the internet have a lot to answer for”. To what extent this is true is debatable, but is there a link between race and support, or even success, in boxing in the UK?
Khan’s ethnicity also distinguishes him from any of his boxing predecessors. His south Asian parentage, alongside his adherence to the Islamic faith, places him in a unique position in the United Kingdom. Unlike many of the fighters from Irish, African/Afro Caribbean and traveler descent, Khan is the first British Pakistani boxer to reach any level of Prominence. It has been noted that his involvement in the sport alone has led to the involvement of many more British children of Pakistani heritage becoming involved in the discipline. So it is perhaps inevitable that race will undoubtedly play a factor in regards to Amir Khan in the United Kingdom. But has Khan been the victim of racism in the UK? Certainly little was made over his arrest for dangerous driving, resulting in his car breaking the leg of an innocent bystander. Khan has multiple commercial endorsements for different prominent companies, so is not suffering in regards to his finances.
Yet the booing that has been heard at many Khan fights suggests he is not universally popular, and the cheering the followed his brutal destruction at the hands of Breidis Prescott could perhaps hint at more than just appreciation a swift first round KO. I for one was delighted at the Khan loss, but more because I felt his ascension has not necessarily been on merit, more on media hype. Perhaps then it would force a more merit based fight for the title. But I apply the same for all fighters, be it Floyd Mayweather, Kelly Pavlik or Roy Jones Jnr. However, in the UK there has been a discrepancy in the way many of the fighters have treated in regards to their ability. Ricky Hatton’s loss to Floyd Mayweather did not bring about anywhere near the same level of internet message board post’s attacking Hatton as there was for Khan in the Prescott fight, despite the fact he was brutally outclassed for much longer and has also benefited from widespread media support and is significantly older than Amir.
Hatton’s ability to galvanise fans, and have them travel in support to his fights in the thousands, is well documented. Many say this is because he is a man they can relate to, and that he is a ‘Man of the people’. Does race play a factor in this? Hatton’s fans being overwhelmingly white, working class males. Could those same Ricky Hatton fans ever cheer on Amir Khan in the same way? Or on the flip side, would the level of support Khan is able to generate from his own Pakistani community ever be replicated for a non-Pakistani fighter? Much of boxer’s ability to draw support stems from their ability to portray themselves as ordinary, decent people from their own communities (Pacquiao/Philippines, Cotto/Puerto Rico are prime examples). Perhaps boxing mirrors how people identify themselves, and racial identity is undoubtedly part of this. Lennox Lewis, Britain’s most recognized fighter in the modern era, never achieved the fame of Hatton, despite being the undisputed Heavyweight champion and the only losses he sustained, he avenged via knockout in rematches. Could race be an attributing factor? One can only speculate, but it is an interesting perspective.
James Degale, a British fighter of mixed raced heritage, has also been a victim of the boo-boys in the UK. Whether or not race can be attributed to the criticism is only speculative. But his Olympic gold medal, and the criticism he has faced from the crowds at his fights, do draw comparison with our last Olympic Heavyweight Gold medalist, Audley Harrison. Long before his defeats at the hands of non-descript fighters, Harrison had been derided for his perceived arrogance and his ‘ego’. Many fans, not unlike during Khan’s loss, celebrated wildly when he received his first loss KO at the hands of Michael Sprott. Harrison certainly thinks was a factor in the criticisms he received, so stating to the guardian newspaper, “People have wanted to stitch me up and deny me any chance of getting on with my career, either as a promoter or a fighter”. I for one was no fan of Audley Harrison as a professional heavyweight, but there is certainly a link between many of the ethnic minority fighters and their perception of the treatment they have received from within the United Kingdom. Stellar fighters such as Prince Naseem Hamed, Junior Witter, Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank long complained of the treatment they received at the hands of both fans and media in the United Kingdom.
Joe Calzaghe, arguably the most recognized British middleweight over the last decade, did not receive the same level of criticism for his opponents post Eubank, or for the issue of fighting both Roy Jones Jnr and Bernard Hopkins (in itself a questionable victory) way past their best and maintained steadfast loyal support in both Wales and in the rest of the UK, resulting in his award for BBC sports personality of the year in 2007. Perhaps being welsh may also have been a contributing factor in this also. I for one admired Calzaghe’s style, but his lack of stellar opponents (many commentators feeling the Jeff lacy fight was his defining moment) for many years was not widely attacked, yet Harrison in the early stages of his career faced slow-claps and boos from his own fan base.
The exception to the rule appears to be that of Frank Bruno. The most popular Black Boxer in the UK’s history, Bruno was able to take thousands of fighters over to the United States whilst maintaining huge commercial deals in the UK. The irony is that those very commercial deals that made him famous were the very deals that alienated him from many of the supporters from within the black community. In reversal to many of his fights against African American or Afro-British fighters, many British Blacks did not support Bruno. His national hero was less for his boxing ability than for being a good sport, and his manic appearances, alongside his play-up of his personality, left many black people uncomfortable with how Bruno, one of the few iconic faces, was portraying himself to a national audience. Whereas Bruno had overwhelming white support in the UK for his battles against Tyson and McCall, it was the complete reversal within the minority Black community. Bruno often spoke against the hurt he felt over the alleged ‘Uncle Tom’ allegations thrown at him, but again it speaks volumes for race and relations within the United Kingdom. The same allegation had indeed been put to Amir Khan and many of the promotional work he had done by sections of the Asian community in the UK. It appears that, whatever the intention, a certain community is to be offended. You simply cannot please everybody.
To conclude, the argument as to whether racism is truly endemic in sport can never be comprehensively answered within this short article. Different perspectives can undoubtedly be understood, depending on the position adopted. What is without doubt however, is that there is a perception from within ethnic minorities that in order to succeed they have to somehow prove their authenticity as a British athlete, whereby for white athletes it is taken as a given. There will always be contradictions to this, such as Carl Froch or David Haye. But this is a popular view that transcends boxing. How accurate this view is, will undoubtedly provide food for thought.
Tags: 69 Responses to “Does criticism of Amir Khan reflect widespread racism in British boxing?”
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Any critisicm of Khan is NOT of a racist nature,ok,what do Hatton,Clinton Woods,and Naz have in common? they ALL tok the traditional route of cleaning house domestically and at european level before moving up so when their abilities were exposed at the elite level boxing fans still applauded them for their efforts, Conman Khan hasnt done this as he knows (as does Mr Roach) thats with his chin its too dangerous,and to use racism as an excuse is discraceful. Khan,you can only run for and feed on has beens for so long,and i for one will delight in your padded out,cotton wool,and hollow world come tumbling down on you.
Shoaib
In fairness, half of those idiots on youtube are probably twelve to fifteen year olds who think it is funny to go around upsetting people for their own cheap thrills and have probably never even been to a boxing match! I have been to two Khan fights and can honestly say that i never heard any racism at either, however after the Khan v Limond fight there were a few d**kheads shouting at Calzaghe to knock that german c**t out (Kessler) even though he is danish. I found it quite disturbing actually as i was with my Mrs so yes im sure that you probably have heard a bit of abuse but believe me, four or five idiots can sound like a lot when they are screaming at the top of their lungs, don’t hate all of us for that!
Well said Oli,
Makes a change that we’re all in agreement ay! I must admit, im much like yourself with regards to disliking Khan for boxing reasons only. One of my best friends is black and many are asian and i see them as no different to anybody else in my life as we’re all only here for a limited time anyway so we might as well get on! I have been involved in some of these petty Khan arguments in the past but the thing that riled me was that as soon as i posted a bit of reasonable criticism i was deemed as racist. I was a Calzaghe fan for years but went off of him towards the end as i felt that he was taking on Hopkins and Jones too late and should have given the public him vs Froch, so we do criticise white people too although i can understand why it would look a tad racist!
I Like Khans all round Skill im a boxing fan , but i was a bit dissappointed by Khans “If I Were White” Statement which in itself can be pecieved as racism. All Khan did there was give power to the minority , he should have kept it shut and proved all wrong via the boxing ring nows hes made it harer for himself. But one more thing, on the net the majority of critism comes from American boxing fans.
This article is littered with contradictions and gives no real explanation on the subject.Speaking as someone of mixed race i think the problem with racism in the uk lies in the black and asian communities failure to fully intergrate with traditional british society.
whoa, for the first time ever we have Uk, Don, shoaib, and myself all in agreement to a reasonable extent. lol.
There definatly racists in this country, as a black man i see it far less than say shoaib does, as asians seem to get it far worse. Luckily for me i can in a pub an see a black fighter box, and not have to hear too much racist abuse being shouted out, wheres unfortunatly id totally understand if shoaib says that he could do the same.
But as DON says its a mistake to say its ALL whites who do this. Thats definatly not the case, it is just a very low life minority.
For the record i dislike khan for boxing reasons only
At first i didn’t like Khan because he was a big headed twat and his cockyness showed but i’ve warmed to him lately because he seems to have changed, he seems more modest in his recent interviews and i’m glad because i enjoy watching him fight, i think he’s a great boxer. I don’t believe his critisism is entirely to do with racism, like other people have stated, it’s the fact that the english in particular don’t like cocky bastards. Ps i’m white british/english
ONE OF THE REASONS AMIR IS DISLIKED IS BECAUSE HES THE NUMBER ONE BRITISH FIGHTER IN THE EYES OF THE PRESS…THIS GETS ON THE NERVE OF THE WHITE BRITISH…THIS ISNT KHANS FAULT!! THE ABUSE HES GIVEN ON WEBSITES IS CHILDISH AND DISCUSTING…IT SHOWS THERES SOME PEOPLE IN BRITON WHO ARE EITHER RACIST OR JUST SAD LOSERS… IM BRITISH AND SUPORT KHAN… SO WHAT IF HE HASNT FOUGHT THE TOP OPPONANTS YET… HES ONLY 23!!! NAME A SINGLE BRITISH FIGHTER WHO WAS FIGHTING THE BEST AT THAT AGE!! TRUST ME IF KHAN WAS WHITE THERE WOULDNT BE A BAD WORD SED ABOUT HIM AMONGST THE WHITE BRITS!!
PEOPLE EXPECT TOO MUCH OF HIM… HES ONLY 23…. KNOWONE HAS FOUGHT GREAT FIGHTERS BY THAT AGE… THERE ARE RACISTS IN BRITAIN BUT THERE IN A MINORITY
don@london
I agree it being a minority of the public, but it is a large section of the boxing audience in the UK. Youtube being the perfect example, where these cowards can openly say whatever they want without fear, so judging by that you see where people are coming from who say alot of it is to do with racism.
Joe Calzaghe, arguably the most recognized British middleweight over the last decade, did not receive the same level of criticism for his opponents post Eubank
…………………….
I stopped there. Man, you are either trying to incite something other than conversation or are severely lacking in basic facts…
Well done, you seem to have quite a few replies though so job done!
@ Shoaib 1
Like you said, racism is not just one sided and i commend you for a well balanced post! The only thing that i do have to disagree with is that the racists within the white community are a small minority and not a large section at all.I as a white person have experienced racism myself and as for you not seeing racism at Hatton fights etc that is because the majority of boxing fans are white and they wouldn’t be racist towards themselves. Racism never comes from the minorities at these events for example can you imagine a load of white people being racist at a muslim event, theres no way as these people are cowards and only ever act up when they are in the majority!
Good God, change the record. UK fans will always be fickle and arrogant, its a totally different dynamic to all other nations love of sportsman. We love losers and underdogs, see Hatton, Bruno and the like, we hate winners, see Froch, Khan etc its a stupid predicament, but it has nothing to do with race. Why would nearly 1 million people pay £30 to see David Haye fight? It works how the fan percieves the fighter. Froch has made 2 defenses of his WBC belt, but he barely scrapped 2000 viewers! Why? Hes brash, cocky and has a loud mouth. Brits call it arrogance, everyone else calls it confidence. I couldnt give a monkeys where a pug is from, the more multicultural the better, but this fact never enters my mind. Hatton will always be loved more than Khan because he loves getting ‘bolloxed with the lads’ and laughing off brutal KO’s, that aint funny. Khan is the new golden cashcow, and will be p4p best fighter by 2012, and his skin colour will not affect his stature one bit. To the author, you have backed up Mr Mitchells thoughts 100%. You have no real facts, and is another sh*t stirring piece of drivel, where you have the cheek to say we cant evaluate this ‘problem’ due to the size of the article. There aint no character limit brother. Why not back up some claims and repost? You got your 30 replies though so its probably a succesful piece in your eyes.
is it just me or is there anyone else there who thinks this kwaim cinquez is a wanker
@Ukandsodoff
You summed it up well. In all fairness Khan is not the smartest person in the world. When he came out with that “if I were white” comment, he meant to imply the racist abuse at fights,forums internet chat etc, meaning he would not get that if he were white.
The media jump on him particularly The Sun with articles which will only provoke a negative reaction, anyone with an IQ over 10 will realise this, “Amir Khan Warns Michael Jackson” “King Khan” “Amir Khan Ate My Hamster”, most people are too stupid to realise this but it is clear for most people to see, like Kevin Mitchell of the Guardian
The reason Muslim Asians are more in support of him now more than ever is in solidarity, they see with their own eyes the hate towards him, not by every white person of course but by a large section of the community, many of these people can relate to that having faced racism themselves, so have a vested interest in his success.
Racism is not only white, but I’ve been to boxing matches both in Vegas and in London and the MEN, Khan attracts alot of racist abuse at these fights, never seen any at Hatton’s or anyone elses.
@ Ukandsodoff
i agree that there is a certain amount of racism towards Khan and as you pointed out, it works both ways but its not fair to tar everyone with the same brush and say that all of Ricky Hattons fans are racist!
Yes ben its just not real they jus write it on the net to make up storys and also rumors.
Now i dont like Khan one bit, and im NOT a racist BUT you are just being plain ignorant and in denial if you cant admit that racism is ONE reason why khan is hated in this country. Go into any pub during a khan fight and you will see this country id full of racists facists and biggots. White brits will NEVER EVER love an Asian unfortunatly thats just how it is. Its only ONE reason tho, khans own personalty is a major factor, hes an arrogant deluded moron and that turns people off coupled with the fact that hes the most protected fighter in british boxing history.
Talking about racism, it goes to ways, Khyans fans are mostly idiotic muslim extremists who actually know little about the sport.
But still Ricky Hattons fans are as racist as they come. Not to mention a typical stereotype of the disgusting unedecated pieces of crap that drag this country down
Your right paul davis just to get a story on the web they will put on anything. And also from the name i can tel that Paul is a White person and he is not racist. So why cant every one be like paul. Amir is a fighter and he entertains people so just deal with it or just dont go or watch his fights. ALL YOU RACIST PEOPLE JUST DONT GO OR WATCH AMIR KHANS FIGHTS BECAUSE YOU CANT HANDLE THAT HE IS A BETTER FIGHTER. YESSSSS I SAID IT
Some of you are bloody daft only because he got knocked out 1 time in his career doesnt mean hes got a glass chin. when he reaches his peak he will be the world best boxer. And waheed that is not true because i was there and even white lads look up to him. I know so many white lads that dont care about the background they care about who he is fighting. Like, if they like barrera then they will chear for barrera and if they like Amir Khan they will chear for him. And i believe in Amir khan all the time he is my idiol
HA HA HA HA just read the post below by someone called Debbie she”s got more ba**s than Khan lol
Stop playing the racist card when people give their honest opinions, I for one admire very many fighters irrispective of colour or creed. But only those fighters who fight the oposition who is worthy of being called true opposition instead of cherry picked apponants ;and Khan is clearly not doing that.
This is a silly article. Amir Khan is a superstar in the U.K.
Kwame Cinquez doesnt know what he’s talking about. Freddy Roach didnt work with Amir Khan for the sake of it or because he was an average fighter, he said Khan could take on the world, but as a 23 year old his career is building, he’s not at his peak yet. he has sparred over 80+ rounds with paquiao in vegas and roach says their fights are always even
@ Jerry
Mikkel Kessler
Bernard Hopkins (a better fighter then than ever)
Jeff Lacy (was never the same again)
Chris Eubank (arguably in his prime)
Ritchie Woodhall
Robin Reid
Sakio Bika (proving himself to be world class now)
Byron Mitchell
Omar Sheika
To name a few!
Been round Freddie Roach’s house lately?
peronally i think this is the worst article i have ever read it relates to all black and brown fighters, auderly harrison eubank benn naz, u go on any of these fighters clips and there is racist comments and yes majority are from brits. why u have to headline it with khans name is proberly cause if u hadnt u wont have got the response u are getting now which can only underline khans popularity in britain.
love khan or hate him u gotta admit when khans was fighting there was kind of a buzz in the air, i for one am gonna miss that.
I AM NOT A KAHN FAN.
I am white-british. And I -DO NOT- hate Kahn because he is half Pakistani.
I hate Kahn because he is an arrogant, glass chinned whopper, who is calling the public racists and fighting loads of hand picked fights.
When he starts fighting real opponents and stops fighting hand-pickers…maybe I will like him. At the moment he shows no sort of charisma that you can warm too.
fight fan ur statment “calslappy was a great fighter” renders your post away with the fairies… you know exaclt what calzaghe did who did he beat in his prime, can you imagine the abuse khan would get if he followed the same route calzaghe did???
i think racism has a part to play no doubt…people wana act like it doesnt like britain is so greart but all u have to do is read on the internet or when his fights are being streamed…thats when u really realise what britain is like becos evry1 is protected by being anonymous on their computer so it all comes out then.
and about hattons fans yes they are white middleclass/lower class they even booed can for no reason when he spoke at hatton/pacman weigh in.
also calzaghe and hatton at this point in their careers beat no1 of worth and if they had they wer past it..its the britsh hype but u dnt c brits dissing them much
Waheed nawaz,i was also at the khan v barrera fight and no one was shouting racist abuse.You sir,are a liar.
I absolutly agree with Benjamin
I believe that when Khan went to Olympics the fact’s that he was a Young, British-Pakistani,Second Generation & Muslim went in his favour and he was made the poster boy for british multi culturism.
I’m a british,second generation asian,muslim and a big boxing fan. I’m a big boxing fan but I’m not a fan of Khan that’s not because I’m racist it’s because he has not beat anyone in there prime.
How many people have seen the crowd at a Khan fight? They are not all asian or black but majority white, which is proof that the vast majority of people are backing him.
It’s ok when the press is writing positive things about him,but when they write something negative it’s because he’s asian!
As for him leaving Frank Warren I don’t believe that relationship was mean’t to last anyway,How many fighters has Warren ripped off? Hamed,Hatton and more recently Calzaghe,and that’s naming a few.
From a business point of view I think he has made the right choice in going with Golden Boy Promotions as they have the power and influence in the sport to be able to get him the big fights.
All the big fights happen in America and Khan knows that and the fact that he is based out there for a large part of the year when he trains with Freddy Roach proves it.
Joe Calzaghe was a great fighter but the fact that he did’nt go to America untill the end of his career tarnishes his legacy.
Ricky Hatton could have gone to America earlier instead of defending his WBU title so many times against half handed opposition.
The Khan camp know that this is the right time for him to go to America and this is what I think the fall out with Frank Warren was over,He obviously wanted Khan to stay in th UK where he could control things abit more. Peace&Love
i dont believe khan is a victim of racism. i beleieve he has benefitted as a fighter from being an asian british fighter. look at Kevin Mitchell, a white fighter who has a 30-0 record and embarassed breidis Prescott who took Khan apart, if i wne tout into the street and asked the general public if they have herd of mitchell they answer would be no. the fact that Khan is a british muslim makes him a political icon and thus has fast tracked his career.
all these idiots who are talking that Khan dumoed ITv, Warren or some one else are talking nonsense. Hatton dumped Wareen in the past no body said that hatton dumped Warren Hatton even mention the only possibility of fight with khan is that if he promote his fight himself not by warren, so what the point of talking garbage here that khan dumped that and that. The only thing is all those who are commenting with stupidity are working class average people who just dream about the life and money that khan have today so thats why they just talk shit on here nothing else.
Nah, disagree, this is all about money.
Khan wants the megabucks fights that fighting in the US brings.
Amir khan’s rise to stardom was watched on the Itv channel in england , he got popular and dumped itv for sky pay per view which hasn’t attracted much in the way of viewership plus his first ppv fight was against Prescott ,in that time he dumped his trainers for Teddy Roach and now he has dumped his promoter !.
This pattern of dropping people on the way up doesn’t inspire loyalty when he doesn’t really show any himself .
I personally think he will do better than his number 1 fan naseem hamed who choked on the ultimate occasion with Barrera.
And yes he is the victim of racism .
The reason Khan got booed when he was beat was because he mouthed of about fighting Hatton in manchester the same week he was fighting prescot,Win or loose we all love hatton ,would hatton go to bolton an start mouthing of about Khan? NO .. Ive was in Vegas to watch Hamed ,there were more white an Black Brits then Asian fans ,Saw Lewis in Vagas as manny whites as Blacks,the botton line is… boxing is there for us all,an it doesnt matter if your black white green yellow brown or pink ,if you fight well you’ll be loved.
no i don’t think so!he dumped warren that’s why somewhat respect of him vanished!boxing is not of greed and fame but of respect and honor!he may earns lots of money under corporate evil goldenboy but respect and honor are priceless!so it’s not the race but of character!
you don’t get this kind of stick against sport stars of different colour in mid east countries, asia or africa. i have lived all over the place and people just don’t give a rats back side if you are white skinned.
im sure there are bad apples everywhere but racism is a big problem mainly in the SO-CALLED CIVALIZED WEST, go to russia, serbia, england, scotland, france, germany, croatia just to name a few.
2 w0rds glass chin other then that a nice young talent
PPL DONT LIKE KHAN BCUZ HE FGHTS BUM,S AN OVER THE HILL FGHTERS,,BOXINGS BIGGEST FGGT
carl froch is white and nowhere near as popular as hatton and JC, Race has nothing to do with it, its personality and skills
thats why hes here in the us now. plain and simple
khan is a mupit with a glass chin and i would say the same thing if he were white black pink blue or orange.
Touchy subject, but without any bias, I can say it is true, not just a reflection on Boxing, but also on British society.
We live in different times to the days of Bruno,Hamed, where there was less racial conflict.
I’m ashamed to say that he is targeted because of his race by a large minority of chavs who are not boxing fans but just racists.
Britain does not like any ethnic minority to be sucessful. If your Black or Asian and broke, your white mates will love you. You ever get above their station, with more money, they will HATE you. I am white, and speak from experience. Personally if your under 30, you should just get out of the UK, it’s one big dump, full of bitter angry people.
A wise decision Amir, you can make mucho dinero in the Estados Unidos de America, the land of the free.
Tony,seeing as you want to stay out on the pis all night you can get one of your mates to put you up for the night!
The front door is locked,I’ve gone to bed and your dinner is in the dog!
The brits are very racist. They need diversity classes and to shoot their queen [elton john]. The US has a 1/2 negro president and is therefore the greatest country ever!!!
Are they being serous, come on your itheir good or your not and alot of people are dissapointed in a few of khans prevous preformances its not casue there racist its becase they are not satisfied with khans profamces. We are boxing critics so we watch fights and expose that a fighter has a certain weakness its our job. For example khan is a fighter that has been exposed to be weak at taking punches and people just want to see him in there with a big puncher and see him win, that way he will of beat my ealeir statement that he has a soft chin. But come on racism thats absoultly rediculous. Yes there is too much racism in this world but it has nothing to do with the critism of khan you cant link his fighting skills to his race. Out of onisty and im a white british person i can saftley say most of the great all time fighters are black from maywheather to ali to ray robision,joe louis,jack jhonson and iv cause great mexicans like duran,morrales,chavez,comacho,barrera. And there is great white boxers such as Henry cooper, jack sharky , jack dempsy , Rocky marciano , jake lommotta and many more this proves boxing to be a multi cultre sport so i belive this sport to be immune to racism how can you be racist and be a boxing fan when there are so many fighters from diffrent cultrul backgrounds.
Lennox lewis and nigel benn spring to mind. Two black fighters that were hugely respected in boxing circles, and achieved great things.
I think it’s fair to say they probably were victims of racial abuse at some point, I think most fighters of ethnic origin will in any “White” country. Sadly there are idiots everywhere. However I don’t think the widespread dislike for khan, harrison et al is all racially motivated. A fairchunk is down to who they fight and how they fight. David haye doesn’t get the same abuse Harrison did, danny Williams wasn’t abused like audley, I think that alone suggests there are other factors to take into account.
Britain has nice people and bad people, Sadly the racist lot keep shouting abuse such as P*KI when Amir Khan wins or loses or even enters the ring. I was at the Barrera fight and a large group of White Males were blatantly shouting abuse at him!!!! So if this is not racism then what is it? :O
I cant be racist because I’m married to a white Lady, Neither do i like Racist people. so this is my point of view whether you like it or not but the abuse was because of Khans Background!
The writer draws on racism saying onyl frank bruno stand out as a fighter who wasnt white and didnt get support.
What about Nasseem Hamed, who was british muslim and sold out arenas for years with thousands of fans supporting him?
What about Lennox Lewis again thousands supporting him buying his PPVs?
What about Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn, Danny Williams to name but a few more?
What aboutDavid Haye selling out the 02 taking thousands to Germany and selling over a 1million PPVs against valuev?
Matt skelton another.
All of these are recent fighters and all got support.
The reason Degale doesnt get support isnt because hes mixed raced as the author suggest its because he is 5-0 yet acts like he’s 50-0, he comes across so arrogant its unreal, read his latest comments where he’s taking the pis* out of george grove (a potential challenger) who does this guy think he is!! The guy acts like a joke and therefore gets treated like a joke and is disliked.
*don’t bother writing bad stuff on the net!!
Why is it when a non white sports star is not popular, it has to be put down to racism?
What about the guys personality… it seems the people who are making accusations of racism… are the ONLY ONES who are focusing on race and totally ignoring the personality of the disliked star.
David haye is a popular mixed race fighter… naseem was popular, frank bruno, lennox lewis (was loved).
Stop all this rubbish about racism. Its nonsense
I would jus like 2 say that no one shoud be racist and obviously I’m not racist and I don’t get y ppl shud b racist either! It’s not because I’m a huge amir khan fan but it’s because I like boxing as a sport and enjoy watching it and by people writing articles like this it spoils the name of the sport. But I have also got to say that if you don’t like anyone just keep it to yourselves and bother writing bad stuff on the net!! Amir khan is a born fighter with gr8 skill and power and deserves to hold the light-welterweight title and I hope the very best for him in the future!!!
Can you really consider yourself a boxing fan and be racist? Great boxers have came from just about everywhere. I think people who bring the issue of race into boxing aren’t really fans of boxing but fans of ONE boxer. That’s pretty gay if you ask me.
One boxer you did miss on was Joe Bugner, in the end he emigrated to Australia. He was not aggressive enough. Hatton is popular because of his aggression. There are a lot of haters in boxing and the secret as has already been said is to collect the money and ignore it. Degale and Amir Khan are not scrappers and I think a large following like to see a war. No one had a worse time than Joe Bugner so I don’t think it is racial.
good article… few points…1. there are racists everywhere, you just have to ignore em, the more you respond to them the more attention they will get (like adding fuel to fire). 2. graham, im not a fan of khan but hes 23 a multi millionaire, and you are nothing, so please dont say he is a waste of time your jus a hater stacking shelves in argos.
I am responding to your article not because of Amir Khan but because you have brought up the issue of race in UK boxing. I wouldn’t care less about Khan, I think he is a waste of time, and a waste of space.
On the issue of race, it is simple we do not live in a perfect society.
awesome article! Will reply 2moro
Amir Khan is not as popular as guys like Hatton and Calzaghe simple because he is arrogant with a big bragging mouth. A lot of Brits disliked Hamed for the same reasons. Colour or race has nothing to do with it. In Britain the people prefer the humble working class type of boxers.
Im not a racist and neither has the british boxing community ever been racist towards khan. I DO believe however that some of the reason for his popularity is because he is a british muslim.
Britain is not so slowly becoming a multi-national country and khan was in the right place at the right time. Back when prince nassim hammed was dominating no one talked about him being a muslim he was just a show man and a great boxer.
Sorry to go on anyway, theres no denying khan has incredible skill and all the best to him, but if he starts dodging fighters i think the U.S audience are going to drop him like a stone.
Obviously there are some mindless morons and unfortunately a few fans within our chosen sport who will be racially abusive towards Khan, based on his culture and ethnic background, those few are neither needed or wanted. However I’m one of many British boxing fans but more importantly one of many boxing fans from around the globe, who has too many questions left unanswered with regards to Khan as a fighter…..I fear by the looks of it they never will be answered. I feel his record and route to a world title leave much to be desired and his hype is unjustified.
i think that prince naseem hamed was laughed at not lauded, he was more of a circus act
That is a load of rubbish, im a big boxing fan and have enjoyed Amir’s last couple of fights but im a doubter of his ability after his loss to Prescott but it doesnt mean we are racist
to answer the question,`no dont talk crap`.
I got bored after reading the title, im guessing the wrighter is foreighn to even consider that we ‘British’ fans dislike Kahn because of his race. one word for this article REDICLOUS
Unfortunately, racism is STILL a problem everywhere one goes. We have improved a lot as a whole, but the problem of course still persist. There is still time..
The world is full of racist so you cant run away from it.