Will Amir Khan Ever Rise To The Top?

By Rumel - 04/02/2013 - Comments

khan45By Rumel: Bolton’s superstar, Amir Khan, returns to the ring at the end of the month to face seasoned-veteran, Julio Diaz, as he looks to rebuild his career.

But the question remains – will he ever reach the top he so badly desires? Losses against Peterson and Garcia hurt his career just as he was about to enter the golden spotlight, with talks about a possible fight with Floyd Mayweather.

How things suddenly change in the space of a few months. If we take a look at his fight with Peterson, there’s no doubt in my mind that Khan won this fight. I felt the refereeing was unfair, and perhaps slightly biased. But in my opinion, Khan did enough to win a points decision. However, the fact remains, Khan did struggle against an opponent who many feel, along with myself, is not a world-class operator. He struggled with the pace of the fight, as well as the constant pressure on him. Now, there’s no questioning his heart and determination, but it begs the question – how would Khan do in the ring with the likes of Rios or Alvarado at 140? Or the likes of Robert Guerrero or the reinvigorated Juan Manuel Marquez at 147 if/when he moves up?

He may have the speed to dazzle his opponents, but the names I’ve mentioned will simply smile and walk right through his punches. Unfortunately, I don’t think Khan will ever lose his ‘macho’ fighting style, instead he will always be in a war with opponents who come forward, thus becoming a battle of who packs the harder punch. Again, with the mentioned names, Khan will soon be looking to rebuild his career once again.

I fully expect him to come through his fight with Julio Diaz unless a shock occurs, and can envisage a fight with Danny Garcia happening late this year or early next. If Khan boxes sensibly, listens to the defensive instructions from Virgil Hunter, I can see him taking a comfortable points decision and unifying the division, avoiding the other 140 fighters and moving up.

But, in my honest opinion, this is where I think the fun ends. There’s talk of Rios struggling to make the weight at light welterweight, so a move up for him too is likely. Then you have Bradley, who proved he had a warrior’s heart against Ruslan Provodkinov. Mayweather, Marquez, Pacquaio – names who Khan will never beat in any era. The 147 division is looking stronger than ever – unfortunately, there’s no room for Khan to hang out. It may even be worth putting a couple of pennies on Khan unifying the 147 division – I’d imagine the payout would be astronomical, such is the unlikeliness of this happening.



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