Khan vs. Garcia 2: Who will have improved the most?

By Boxing News - 01/19/2013 - Comments

garcia56By Craig Hilton: It is one of boxing fans’ most anticipated fights and it’s going to happen sooner or later: Khan (30 – 27 -3) vs. Danny Garcia (25- 0) is expected to be a thriller and show how much both men have learned since their first match.

Neither fighter has fought strong opposition since their first meeting; Garcia fighting a shot Morales and Khan fighting lightweight prospect, Carlos Molina (18 – 17 – 1). I think it’s fair to say that both fighters have a lot of weaknesses and there is still a lot of work to be done in the gym.

Garcia appears to have been carefully matched and his team – that includes his father Angel – are meticulous in their preparations. The Garcia Team start the mind games early and try to unsettle their opposition. They want fighters to come at them aggressively and expose themselves to Garcia’s trademark counter left hook. I agree with Roach that Garcia is a limited fighter at this stage in his career but Khan does not exactly display the vast array of inside and outside skills that are possessed by the top fighters in the world.

Many argue that Amir still shows the same amateur style that won him silver in the Olympic Games; he throws vast amounts of shots without the ring craft needed for professional boxing. Amir is hugely talented and his hand speed has got him very far in the sport. Perhaps it is his over-reliance on hand speed and neglect of other skills – such as counter-punching, head movement and inside work – that has stunted his progress in the professional ranks.

What is clear is that Amir has found that world championship fights are hard and demand a lot of skill and character. Now with new trainer Virgil Hunter; we saw glimpses of new defensive techniques against Molina but nothing that showed vast improvements in his style. Sometimes Amir would steady himself before throwing but will that calmness stick when hurt and under pressure?

Amir’s main weaknesses are his lapses in concentration; erratic style; poor inside work; and inability to use the right punch and the right time. Amir has one of the best engines in the sport and can go the full twelve so easily. However, he does not throw knock-out punches at ten stone and is not a body-puncher. In view of this, his opponents often weather the storm early on and have success later in fights – after Khan has taken considerable punishment on the inside and his hand speed has slowed somewhat. There is no doubt that Khan could get rid of his opponents at Lightweight but the guys at ten stone show more resolve and expose his weaknesses.

Both Khan and Garcia are exciting fighters and always entertain. I hope this article has painted some of the background to what could be the fight of 2013. The biggest test for both fighters may not be who is the fastest or the strongest; but who has knuckled down and learned the most since their first encounter.



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