Bashar Khaddage

I fear for Amir Khan

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khan56By Bashar Khaddage: With the recent announcement of WBC Middleweight Champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez fighting the welterweight Amir Khan, I must say I’m not too sure how I feel about this. It sure as heck will sell and we can expect the PPV numbers to be impressive as the casual boxing fan will probably purchase this fight. However, this fight has mismatch written all over it.

First and foremost, lets quickly analyze Khans profile: Here’s a decorated Olympian that started of his pro career fighting in the lightweight division of 135 lbs and only till very recently has fought at the welterweight limit of 147 lbs. He’s beaten 3 fighters at welterweight, but did not look too impressive, especially with Chris Algeiri – A feather fisted fighter. Khan still possessed that blinding hand speed, but none of Khans wins came by way of KO / TKO, suggesting that his KO power, which was never too much to begin with, did not carry through with him into the welterweight division.

Now looking briefly at the catch-weight king, Canelo Alvarez: The so-called WBC ‘Middleweight’ champion forces all his challengers to drain down to 155 lbs (when in reality the Middleweight title can be fought at up to 160 lbs) or he picks on someone from the welterweight / junior middleweight division and forces them to move up in weight at 155 lbs.

Manny Pacquiao isn’t the fighter he once was

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pac07676767By Bashar Khaddage: After watching Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley 2 last Saturday night, I’ve come to a conclusion that the once pound for pound king is not the fighter he once was, and he might soon get hurt really bad in the ring. Being a hardcore Pacquiao fan myself, I’ve tried to dismiss the many claims that have circulated around him for 2 years now.

I do believe he outclassed Bradley in the first fight and you’ve got to be blind to believe he lost that fight, but simply put, there is something lacking in his performance.

He no longer possesses the aggressiveness that defined his career, he no longer has the ability to fight for 3 full minutes of every round and he seems very timid to get into an all out exchange.

Mayweather, please do not fight Khan!

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khan3434By Bashar Khaddage: With the entire boxing world awaiting Floyd Mayweather Jr’s official announcement on who he fights next, a real fan of the sweet science can only hope he DOES NOT choose Amir Khan. I’m sorry, but no matter how you slice and dice it, Khan is not worthy of a fight with Floyd Money Mayweather.

With the stack of talent from the 140, 147 and 154 pound divisions, a fight with Khan is a bit of a joke. Yes, I understand that Khan is probably the only fighter out there who’s ‘faster’ than Mayweather, but come on, he has done absolutely NOTHING to deserve a fight with the pound for pound king. He’s been knocked out several times, and has done little since his KO loss to Danny Garcia to redeem himself.

Who’s to blame for the Top Rank – Golden Boy Promotions mess?

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By Bashar Khaddage: If there is one figure that I absolutely despise in the sport of boxing, its gotta be promoter Bob Arum. Top Rank, being one of the largest promotional boxing companies and with arguably the largest stable of relevant fighters headed by Bob Arum, has allowed him to have an iron grip on the sport. While the Harvard educated business man is definitely making tons of money (net worth valued at 200 million dollars), he’s the man that I blame for making the talent stacked light welterweight (140) & welterweight (147) divisions shy from what they can potentially be.

Amir Khan should cash out and hang up the gloves

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khan#2By Bashar Khaddage: Once a promising rising boxer from the UK, Amir Khan seemed to be on the right path for greatness, winning a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, at the the young age of 17 to become the youngest British boxer with an Olympic medal.

With legendary hand speed, quick feet and respectable punching power, Amir Khan cruised through his opponents. Moreover, his cocky character and unique ethnic background (no Pakistani British boxer to previously conquer the world stage) helped him become a household name.