McGuigan not sure if Khan is making the right move by fighting in U.S

By William Mackay: In an article by Barry McGuigan at the Mirror, he questions whether World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Amir Khan is making the right move by fighting in the United States where he has little or no real fan base. McGuigan says “In giving up home advantage, he [Khan] has forfeited a degree of control he would have otherwise had that can be important at this stage in his education.” I think Khan will be alright fighting in the U.S. He really doesn’t need a bunch of adoring fans cheering him on for him to be successful in the United States.

Khan’s new promoters Golden Boy Promotions are going to make sure he succeeds by putting him with fighters that really don’t have much of a punch and who won’t have the kind of power to test Khan’s brittle chin. They’ve already done well to line Khan up with the pillow puncher Paulie Malignaggi on May 15th instead of putting Khan in with the knockout artist Marcos Maidana.

That was a skillful move by Golden Boy because Maidana probably would have wrecked Khan’s world had he been matched against him. Khan is a fighter that has flashy moves, incredible hand speed and a lot of talent, but he doesn’t seem to have a strong enough chin to handle a big puncher like Maidana or Victor Ortiz. Those guys hit really hard and it would be a wrong move to put Khan in with one of those guys. McGuigan needed worry about Khan being thrown to the wolves.

After Khan gets by Malignaggi, you can bet that he’ll be matched up against an old warrior like Nate Campbell or some other old lion. They wanted to out Khan in with the 36-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez, but he smelled something fishy and backed off. But that’s the kind of fighters that Khan will be matched against to make a name for him, and also to keep him away from lethal fighters like Maidana, Ortiz, Devon Alexander, and Timothy Bradley.

McGuigan thinks that Khan can have success by fighting in the U.S., pointing out that Manny Pacquiao has done well by having his fights take place in the U.S. Pacquiao has done well by being put in with fighters that he matches up well against. His handlers have put him in with mostly stationary fighters like Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey and Oscar De La Hoya. Pacquiao struggled badly when they put him in with a good counter puncher who could move when they matched him against Juan Manuel Marquez.

They haven’t put Pacquiao in with Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Shane Mosley, and that shows a lot of smarts on their part by not doing so. Khan’s people will do well if they keep him in with older fighters or younger ones that aren’t big pressure fighters and who don’t have a lot of power.

Khan can still be a huge star in the near future if they can pit him against the right kinds of fighters. He needs the old names and he needs some of the weaker guys otherwise things will probably go badly with him. The last thing Khan needs is another setback like the one he experienced when he was put in with Breidis Prescott two years ago in 2008. Khan was stopped in the 1st round in that fight.

There haven’t been any opponents with any kind of power put in with Khan since that time. That will likely stay that way in the future for as long as Khan fights. I think the only way Khan is put in with a puncher is if it’s totally unavoidable and even then I’m not so sure it’s going to happen. If he becomes famous enough, like Pacquiao, he won’t need titles to still get big money fights.

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