Roach: Khan will throw a lot of uppercuts against Peterson when he comes in head first

By Boxing News - 03/12/2012 - Comments

Image: Roach: Khan will throw a lot of uppercuts against Peterson when he comes in head firstBy William Mackay: Trainer Freddie Roach says that his fighter Amir Khan (26-2, 18 KO’s) won’t be shoving IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KO’s) in their rematch on May 19th at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Instead of shoving Peterson, putting him in headlocks and endless held grabbing holds, Khan will be throwing a lot of uppercuts and using some other strategies that Roach isn’t saying right now what they’ll be.

Roach told boxingtalk.com “Lamont Peterson would come in head first and Amir was looking to avoid getting hit with a head butt, so he would push him away. This time, we will work on firing uppercuts when he comes in head first instead of pushing him away. I think that will be effective with a few other small adjustments.”

So Roach is blaming Khan’s shoving on Peterson coming in head first? If that’s the case, then why was Khan extending outworks to shove Peterson even before he got close to him? Why did Khan shove Marcos Maidana so often when he wasn’t leading with his head in his fight with Khan? The only thing I saw Maidana trying to do was work inside, which is what Peterson was doing. I think that’s Khan’s problem. He has problems against fighters that can battle on the inside and because Roach hasn’t taught him enough tools in how to deal with inside fighter, Khan elects to shove.

I can’t see throwing uppercuts as being an answer to Peterson’s inside attack. It might work on occasion but it won’t be effective because Khan will be getting hit in the midsection and won’t be able to throw punches while getting hit hard. He’ll cover up, shove or probably start holding or running. I’ve heard the bit about Khan working the angles but that sounds like wishful thinking and it won’t work anyway. Peterson will follow along and keep firing punches and it’ll put Khan in the situation where he’ll likely revert to his shoving, holding by the head and running to escape the pressure.



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