By John Wight: One of the most exciting and compelling aspects to the sport of boxing is the manner in which one fight can completely change a fighter’s fortunes, turning an up and coming fighter with potential into a genuine contender or conversely ending the illustrious career of former world champions, legends even.
That age old contest between youth and experience has brought us some of the most compelling fights in the history of boxing, pitting the likes of an old Archie Moore against a young and brash Ali; Mike Tyson against the great Larry Holmes; and of course in Britain who could ever forget the war against Chris Eubank in 1997 that heralded the arrival of Joe Calzaghe as the genuine article.
Last Saturday night’s ‘Coming Of Age’ Frank Warren extravaganza was one of the most eagerly anticipated promotions in this country for a long time. At last, after his crushing defeat by Breidis Prescott, and after having spent the time since based in LA under the tutelage of Freddie Roach, we were about to see if Amir had made the considerable improvements required if he was to be taken seriously as championship contender. Standing in his way was Marco Antonio Barrera, a ring legend deserving of every inch of the miles of column inches that have been devoted to his praise in a career stretching back 20 years – years in which he has crowned world champion a stupendous 7 times at three different weights over 72 professional fights.
Was Khan about to be found out again just two fights after being nailed by Prescott? Had the months spent under the guidance of Freddie Roach, sparring with the likes of Manny Pacquiao, wrought the improvements required to make him a genuine contender to a last live up to the hype? As for Barrera, did he still have it in him at the age of 35 to beat a younger, stronger fighter on the way to winning another world title? Would the step up in weight prove his downfall? How would he deal with the younger man’s power and anticipated intensity?
All these questions and more loomed large as the time of the fight approached. And with Freddie Roach’s pronouncement in the days leading up that if his fighter lost to Barrera he was finished, watching Khan make his way to the ring on fight night was akin to watching a young man staring into the abyss.
Undoubtedly, it was a huge test for the young man from Bolton, by far the biggest of his career thus far, and it was one he passed in impressive fashion. The way he used his jab to wear down his opponent, moving in with crushing left-right combinations, before moving out and side to side with his hands up, was like watching a different fighter than the one we were used to and, if honest, the one most of us were expecting to see again. In the past Khan would throw his jab out more in hope than anything else, on the way to lurching in with a wild right hand, chin in the air and off balance as he relied on a big shot to see him through. In boxing terms he was a one-trick pony, easy to pick off by any top fighter, who in the past had been in trouble with limited fighters like Scotland’s Willie Limond and the mercurial Michael Gomez.
Freddie Roach has done a remarkable job in turning Khan from a young fighter with power and potential, but no craft, into a world class boxer. Yes, in answer to the question, sparring with the likes of Pacquiao on a daily basis has borne fruit, as has Roach’s unsurpassed ability to deconstruct a fighter and provide the blueprint required to improve said fighter beyond recognition. He never screams at his fighters; instead Roach talks to them in a way and with such knowledge that to listen is to realise that when it comes to boxing, this man has a Phd, MA, BA, and MBA all rolled into one. This is reflected in his record in training world champions. Admittedly, yes, he gets them at the stage when they’ve already either achieved world championship status or are on the cusp of doing so. But then Freddie Roach’s particular genius is in making the adjustments in already world class fighters that at the very top level make all the difference.
That said, he did come in for criticism in the days leading up to the fight for his public statement to the effect that if Khan failed to overcome Barrera his career was finished. It certainly heaped a lot more pressure on Khan as he entered the ring. But then perhaps this is exactly what Roach intended. After all, he’s the man who’d spent the last six weeks getting him ready, and consequently he no doubt knew what Khan required psychologically to get him properly focused on the job at hand.
Regardless of the fight, there will still be those who continue to be circumspect where Amir Khan is concerned. He fought an old Barrera, they will say. If it hadn’t been for the nasty cut that Barrera sustained then Barrera would have won eventually, and so on.
But let’s be clear, despite the fact that the fight was stopped in the 5th round due to the nasty cut above Barrera’s eye after an accidental clash of heads in the first, Khan was in total command. He refused to rush in with the uncontrolled flurries of punches he was prone to in the past; instead taking his time, picking the Mexican apart with jabs and right hands, utilising angles and neat footwork to keep his opponent off balance, never allowing Barrera to set and throw meaningful combinations of his own. No, make no mistake, Amir Khan on this night was a fighter transformed.
The question now of course is whether he yet has enough to overcome the likes of Juan Manuel Marquez for a world title. Perhaps another fight against a top ranked challenger should come before taking the step up against the current excellent crop of world champions in the lightweight division, maybe in the form of a rematch against the hard hitting Breidis Prescott in order to expunge the one and only defeat, and humiliation, from his record.
Whatever his next step, Khan deserves time to bask in his victory. The mettle of the young man is reflected in his willingness to up sticks and leave the comfort of home and the limelight in Britain to go and serve his apprenticeship in the decidedly unglamorous surrounding of Roach’s Wildcard Gym.
The result is that now, finally, Amir Khan is on his way.
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