Amir Khan’s chin: A rational perspective

By Boxing News - 01/04/2011 - Comments

Image: Amir Khan’s chin: A rational perspectiveBy James Oliver: The general consensus with today’s boxing public, be them part time fans or hardened followers, is that whilst Amir Khan (24 -1. 17 KOs) is certainly gifted with an abundance of natural talent, his ability to take a punch will inevitably lead to his downfall. For evidence, critics often point to Khan’s first round knockout at the hands of Colombian powerhouse Breidis Prescott (23 -2. 19 KOs), as well as a handful of previous knockdowns at domestic level. I believe that Khan not only has the talent to rule the light-welterweight division, his inability to take a big punch is often far too overplayed his critics, and I would like to explain why.

Khan does not have an iron chin, nor does he have a so called glass jaw. Amir Khan is able to withstand punishment from anyone currently in the division he seeks to conquer and this was proven in his fight with Argentinean Marcos Maidana (29 -2. 27 KOs). Although I am British, I did not start off as an Amir Khan fan. I respected his boxing ability but only grew to like him as a fighter fairly recently. This being said, I thought I could try to put a rational perspective on the one (and I do believe one) big flaw in Khans arsenal. There are two things we must take into account when analyzing this issue fully; firstly Amir Khans style of fighting, and second, how people react when hit with a powerful punch.

Khans style, I would argue, can be defined as classically European, with undertones of experience from other regions. His style generally encompasses a high guard, with the majority of his defence coming by way of blocking and movement. There is limited head movement as you would find with an American style, and a high amount of lateral movement around the ring. This style is very successful in amateur boxing as a good jab usually forms the base of technique and the ability to move quickly avoids taking forceful straight shots which can score points. What we can gather from this is when Khan takes shots which really do damage, he is usually moving laterally with his feet spread very far apart. This constant movement and a wider than usual basic stance, can result in moving into punches, particularly hooks. The problem when it comes to Khan is that as his legs are so wide, his feet can buckle after the punch is taken but the body is still in movement. In short, he has a susceptibility to showing his opponent when he is hurt.

Typically, traditional European style and American fighters will have a sturdier base with their legs in order to absorb blows. The reaction after a particularly damaging salvo is often to shell with their arms and shuffle backwards, depending on how hurt they are. You will see many examples of this every weekend when watching bouts. That being said, a fighter may be just as hurt as Khan after taking a blow, but would look to be absorbing it better due to their boxing style. Anyone reading this article would have been seriously in trouble by any one of the punches thrown by Marcos Maidana that night, the difference is that we may have the style to cover it up.

I do not believe that Khan has a good chin, he has a mediocre jaw which will hold under sustained attack with the right amount of coaching. We cannot understate the job he did against Maidana. Many people would have been ruined after such a ferocious onslaught and his performance may have at least awakened some people to the problem not in his chin, but in his style, that is the root of his visual trouble.



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