Amir Khan and his quest for professionalism

By Ivan Ivanov - 08/07/2013 - Comments

khan53By Ivan Ivanov: I am not looking to get into arguments and I am not a fan of Amir Khan. When a boxer is disparaged and disrespected at a time he needs support, I think there should be a different view as well or at least a word of advice and encouragement. Here is what Khan needs to do in my humble opinion:

1. Change the footwork to a more economical glide and plant your feet for at least one punch in a combo.

2. Use no more than three punches in a combo and use one big shot (hook, cross, uppercut, swing, Nelson, straight right) in each combo. Four shots and more at a time waste energy without doing a lot of damage, the power (if any) dissipates.

3. Learn and maintain correct head position at all times. Changing from penguin to Mexican shrug would be a good idea.

4. Go in and go OUT of range equally fast. Staying in range to admire your work already cost you dearly.

5. Do not out-speed yourself; hitting the block meant for your jab with the right hand too won’t be scored. Vary your speed of attack; vary the speed during the combo. Be opponent-specific with your speed.

6. Forget about short range; work on your defense instead. Move your head. Body movement is absent, find some agility in your waist and use your legs defensively. In stead of exchanging up close, learn how to survive close range. Grab and hold briefly, tie him up and wrestle him away, if Floyd does it, who are you to act tough? You simply aren’t tough enough for close range.

7. Throw at least 5 strong body shots per round (separately, not all at once).

8. When you slip, duck, side step or simply back away, try not only to escape the attack but try to remain close enough to retaliate. If you think defense and attack are two separate things, you’ll get caught in-between.

9. The best asset is your speed, but you turn it into haste and you forgo the basics in your anxiety. You need functional speed, instead of prancing around slapping half–heartedly, concentrate and find the desire and will to hit hard. Danny Garcia intentionally walked into your flurry to land his big Mex-hook because he realized you could not hurt him before he hurts you.

10. Punch power does not change for a fighter after his body matures and stops growing, but you are not using your potential to hit hard. Once in a while go for full rotation, full range of motion and punch from the bottom of your heart pushing from the back leg with every ounce of manhood until you reach knuckle-elbow shoulder alignment just before impact and explode on it. Whatever happens, if you commit to punching hard, you will look organized and purposeful and you’ll give second thoughts to anyone before he wades into your combo.

Khan was a decorated amateur but he has not found his pro style. He has not adjusted to the rigors of professional pugilism and I could criticize aspects of his game other critics may not know to exist. Criticizing is easy and being supportive of what seems to be damaged goods may not be fashionable. Believing in anything is hard nowadays, I have at least 10 more guidelines for Khan but let’s take it step by step



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