Khan ready to step up his opposition

By scottbells - 05/14/2013 - Comments

khan#26By Scott Bells: Former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (28-3, 19 KO’s) still has lots to accomplish in the sport, and can become world champion once again.

Yes, Khan still has momentary lapses where he admires his fast combinations as he steps back and leaves himself open to a counter (the fights against Danny Garcia, Carlos Molina and Julio Diaz all show this). However, he IS improving and becoming more patient in the ring.

Having watched the Diaz fight, it made me think that he needs to go back in with a top level pressure puncher and show his improvements now that he is a couple fights in with new trainer Virgil Hunter. I say this because he has fought a number of pressure punchers and looked in control before struggling later on in fights.

In his fight against Danny Garcia last year in July, Khan just lost concentration and then panicked big-time. Against Lamont Peterson he had no inside strategy, and then against Diaz he just left himself open and static after firing off shots.

So why not put him in with a credible challenger who is coming off the best win of his career and narrowly missed out on a fight with Manny Pacquiao – Mike Alvarado?
Alvarado hits hard, is a pressure fighter and will test Khan’s defense in a similar way that Marcos Maidana did a few years ago, albeit with more skill!

What’s more, Alvarado possesses an excellent chin so Khan will have to fight the whole 12 rounds and display both concentration and discipline which he has abandoned since the fight with Zab Judah.

If Khan wants to be taken seriously as a potential Floyd Mayweather foe, then he has to take this fight – we talk about rematches with Garcia and Peterson but I think Alvarado would actually draw more interest due to his to fights with Brandon Rios being so exciting.

If we think about it, a Khan-Alvarado fight would draw huge numbers and could not possibly be anything but exciting!

Khan has amazing natural talent, and now he is in his mid-twenties, he needs to become a more cultured fighter and start to dominate bouts with his boxing ability and wear people down. Mayweather, Bernard Hopkins and Andre Ward (to name a few) control fights and don’t go searching for the knockout all of the time. If Khan utilizes his assets and keeps his hands up in the same way he did in his fights with Andriy Koltenik, Judah and Maidana (for most of the fight) then he can still make it to the top.

To get past a fighter who is riding high like Alvarado would be the perfect statement that he is ready for the mega fight he so craves.



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