By Ian Aldous: Duke McKenzie (39-7) has been involved in boxing for a long time. During his 15-year career, he remains the only British fighter to win World titles in three different weight divisions (IBF flyweight, WBO bantamweight and WBO super-bantamweight). Since he retired, he’s continued working in the sport as a commentator for BBC radio, ITV sport and Primetime. This week he gave me his thoughts on two young stars of British boxing, Amir Khan and Tyson Fury.
You were at ringside commentating on the Amir Khan vs. Zab Judah unification fight for Primetime over here in the UK. How impressed were you with the performance of Amir against a seasoned pro in Zab Judah?
DM “Suitably impressed. I don’t very often give Amir the credit as I think he’s had soft options but I think against Judah he was impressive. So, Khan’s 24, he’s topping the bill at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, which is obviously the fight capital of the world. The pressure that’s on that kid is immense, not only from a commercial perspective but what the actual boxing world expects from him now because he’s getting the build up. He’s with Freddie Roach and the Golden Boy promotional outfit backing him, so, he’s got to go out there and deliver, and for me personally, he delivered. You should have seen Zab Judah at the weigh-in, I’ve never seen an eight-pack before in my life, he was ripped to the bone, and he always talks a great fight. I’m not trying to take anything away from Khan but Zab’s obviously the wrong side of 30 now and he looked like he’d had the fight punched out of him.”
We’ve seen a lot of talk about Amir moving up to the welterweight division and taking on the P4P great, Floyd Mayweather. How do you think Amir would match-up with Floyd?
DM “First of all, the timing’s not right for Amir to fight Mayweather right now. He’s not going to beat Mayweather right now. They’re talking about 12-18 months down the line, 18 months from now and anything is possible. At the moment Floyd is the best he’s ever been and he’s the best that he is ever going to get. Whereas Amir, judging on the Judah fight is only getting better, what’s he going to be like in 18 months time?”
Two weeks ago we saw Tyson Fury comfortably outpoint Dereck Chisora for the British and Commonwealth Heavyweight titles. Do you think Tyson is ready for world-class opponents or should he continue to develop with more domestic fights?
DM “He has to continue to develop with domestic fights. To chuck him in the deep end with either of the Klitschko brothers would be suicidal unless he wants a quick career and a quick buck. If he’s got genuine aspirations of becoming a future World heavyweight champion he has to continue with his education, there’s still so much for that kid to learn. He needs a top class trainer and I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way to his current handlers but look at what Freddie Roach has done for Amir Khan. Are we still looking at the Amir that got KO’d by Breidis Presscott? No we are not. So, by that same token could you imagine if Tyson was trained, schooled and disciplined by somebody of the stature of Freddie?”
What were your thoughts on the Fury/Chisora fight?
DM “Yeah, I picked Fury long before the inevitable result. I don’t know what Dereck was thinking by coming in a stone heavier than he’s ever weighed for a fight. You’re not gonna beat Tyson just because you’re a stone heavier than you weighed in your last fight. It’s reminiscent of Danny Williams in some of his fights when he’s coming in at a bloated weight and not performed. Dereck Chisora still has a future in the domestic scene, no doubt about it. He needs a kick up the backside. I was very disappointed with his performance and I’m sure he is. He let himself down. He can definitely come back stronger if he changes his attitude.”
Please visit the official site of Duke McKenzie: www.dukemckenzie.co.uk
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