By William Mackay: When fans of WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) give their reasons why they see the 23-year-old Khan succeeding in the future and becoming a huge super star despite having a problems taking hard shots, they often point out that IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has had great success in his career with an equally bad chin. It’s impossible to compare Khan to Klitschko, however, because Klitschko has an enormous height and reach advantage over most of his opponents, and that really helps Klitschko to avoid getting hit. Khan is tall for a light welterweight at 5’10”, but he’s not that much taller than his opposition.

At the most, Khan has one to three inch height advantage against his opponents. That’s not enough for Khan to avoid getting hit like Wladimir has been able to do since last being knocked out six years ago in 2004. Klitschko also has a great jab that he uses to keep his opponents on the outside. It’s fair to say that Wladimir has the best jab in the entire heavyweight division, and he uses it an awful lot in his fights. In contrast, Khan has a good jab as well, but not a powerhouse jab like Klitschko, and not one that’s hard enough for Khan to dominate with it.

Khan can’t beat a fighter with just a jab like Wladimir. He’s got to use other weapons. Wladimir has huge power in both hands, especially with his left hook. That weapon is devastating for him when he’s able to land it. Khan does have good power, but he’s not a huge puncher and he doesn’t have much of an advantage in that category over his opponents. Against his next opponent Marcos Maidana, it’s Maidana who is the harder puncher with both hands.

Klitschko has very fast hands, a lot faster than most of the opponents he’s faced during his career. This is then one area where Khan does seem similar to Klitschko. Khan’s hands are very fast, and he’s probably one of the fastest punchers in the division. However, being fast won’t keep Khan from getting hit. Quick fighters get knocked out all the time. All it means is that their opponents have to time them better, and use more pressure to catch up to them and land a big shot.