Khan will get knocked out by Peterson if he changes his style from their first fight

By Boxing News - 04/06/2012 - Comments

Image: Khan will get knocked out by Peterson if he changes his style from their first fightBy William Mackay: There’s been all this talk of Amir Khan (26-2, 18 KO’s) looking to change his fighting style for his May 19th rematch against IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Khan is talking about planning on being more slick, staying off the ropes, showing more angles and throwing uppercuts.

It sounds good as far as lip service goes, but in practical application, I think it’s going to be a dismal failure if Khan puts that talk in practice. Let’s face it, Khan fought Peterson last December the only way he could by running for his life, pulling down on his head, shoving him reportedly, putting him in headlocks and covering up on the ropes. These were all things that Khan used to A. get rest breaks B. to escape Peterson’s pressure C. to defend from Peterson’s powerful punches.

Khan can’t fight the way he’s been talking about lately because that would entail him not fouling and not getting rest breaks on the ropes. That would mean that Khan would be forced to fight a lot harder in the center of the ring instead of being able to loaf if by shoving and yanking down on Peterson’s head. If Khan tries to fight Peterson in the center of the ring more like he said he was going to do, it will be like a never-ending repeat of the 4th round with Khan getting pounded to the point where he was forced to start running and shoving.

I think Khan will automatically revert back to his old way of fighting by as early as the 2nd or 3rd round when it’s painfully clear that he can’t fight Peterson in the center of the ring, and he can’t simply run all night long without wearing himself out like he did in the Marcos Maidana fight. Khan can run some but for 12? Nope, he can’t do that without putting his chin on the line. It’s much easier for a fighter to be coming forward than it is for them to be running backwards like Khan. Peterson will be jogging after Khan to chase him down like he did last time, and Peterson has excellent stamina. He won’t get tired running after Khan, whereas Khan will definitely tire out unless he reverts back to his old shoving, pulling down on the head and putting Peterson in head-locks habit.



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