By Craig Hilton: Due to his name being strongly linked with Floyd Mayweather Junior, Amir Khan’s career has been the subject of frequent debate. Some fight fans have responded to rumors of a potential fight between the pair by lampooning Khan’s career whilst mocking his chances against the unbeaten Mayweather.
It appears that Amir Khan’s recent performances are preventing the Mayweather super fight from happening. Based on his record against counter-punchers, Amir would surely present a stern challenge to Floyd.
Taking into account Khan’s many accomplished victories, I asked myself: when and where did it all go wrong for the former world champion? Answer: that knockout loss to Danny Garcia. What was Khan’s weakness that night? Was it that Garcia showed considerably more power than previous opponents? Can Khan handle a puncher or were there other factors involved?
Rounds one and two were one-sidedly Amir’s. He was showing a calm, strategic level of competence exhibited in his previous wins against Paulie Malignaggi and Zab Judah. Amir combined a solid defence with rapid hand speed and effective footwork.
Then, at the start of the third round, Amir became intimidated by Garcia’s punching power. Garcia’s head trainer, Angel Garcia, begged Danny to focus on Khan so that he could time a counter shot effectively. Garcia was instructed to use his legs more so that he could uncover an opportunity to land a huge bombshell. It was during the third round that Garcia baited Khan onto a thunderous left hook that sent him crashing to the floor.
How did this happen? Why was Khan, seemingly in control, now in utter turmoil?
Khan lost the mental game for starters. He was wound up by comments made by Angel Garcia in the lead up to the bout. Danny Garcia was the underdog; Khan was expected to perform and unify his titles at one hundred and forty pounds. The pressure got to Khan and Garcia became the matador to a raging bull.
At the weigh-in, Khan was talking about hurting Garcia and making his team pay for their remarks. He became rattled and warlike in his approach to the contest. Between rounds, Khan’s trainer, Freddie Roach, tried to relax his champion so that he stuck to the game plan. However, the bull choked and was lulled onto that massive shot.
When Amir saw a cut open up over Danny’s eye, he became heated and overly concerned with worsening the damage rather than keeping his opponent honest with a varied attack. It was when targeting Garcia’s head that Khan was most vulnerable to the counter left hook. Khan did not switch his attack to the body enough. Barry McGuigan had commented on Khan’s lack of effective body work during his contest with Paulie Malignaggi. Barry felt that Khan could have ended the bout sooner had he pushed Malignaggi back to the ropes and landed some hard body shots. Khan can drop debilitating shots to the mid-section as exemplified by his knockdown of Marcos Maidana. However, during the Garcia bout, Khan was just head-hunting to the point that he became predictable and countered.
During the third round, Khan discontinued his feints and showed a lack of con-artistry. This lack of creativity prevented Khan from keeping Garcia at a safe distance whilst making him liable to a counter.
Garcia’s power intimidated Khan to the point that it was affecting his confidence and movement. Khan was not moving with the purpose and fluidity shown in his previous wins. As Khan’s jab became loose and ineffective, Garcia began to exploit the openings and opportunities to assert himself and overwhelm Khan with his strength. Sometimes Amir remained stationary when in search of respite. This allowed Garcia the opportunity to crack unanswered blows to his thin frame and hips. These shots were weakening Khan whilst reducing his mobility and speed.
Finally, Amir did not tie up Garcia’s arms effectively. This was particularly evident during the fourth round when he was hurt and disorientated. Amir has never really shown an ability to fight economically at close quarters. Khan tried to punch his way out of danger whilst trying to regain his senses. This approach prevented him from being felled for a third time in the fourth and final round. Khan should have gripped Garcia for dear life but he didn’t have the wherewithal, defensive capabilities or experience to hang on and ride the storm.
In this classic ‘thunder and lightning’ encounter, Garcia had too much thunder for Khan. Danny possessed the strength to back Amir up and land crunching shots to the mid-section. Such blows restricted Khan’s speed and mobility whilst draining his confidence. Khan’s head-hunting style was his downfall; he became predicable and eventually countered by a debilitating thunderbolt around the head at the close of the third round.
Khan has often found it difficult against thudding punchers. However, Mayweather would not present Khan with a knock-out artist. Amir may be stronger and more durable were the fight to take place at Floyd’s natural weight of one-hundred and forty-seven pounds. Therefore, Khan cannot be completely discounted should such a contest eventually come to fruition.
Due to a lengthy period of inactivity, Khan may choose to begin the search for an alternative opponent. The name of the foe will be influential for Khan’s marketability. He will need a win over a fighter of status in order to have a chance of landing a future bout with Mayweather. There is the possibility that Khan will fight fellow Brit, Kell Brook. Brook, a hefty puncher, may be the wrong choice of opponent for Khan’s first outing at one-hundred and forty-seven pounds. Such a contest might put Brook’s name on the map but have a negative impact on Khan’s career.
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