Amir Khan vs. Chris Algieri: Preview and Prediction for Upcoming Bout
Boxing returns to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Friday night when Amir Khan faces off with former Manny Pacquiao opponent, Chris Algieri. He is coming off the first loss of his career, and Khan just had one of his biggest wins.
Khan is a perpetual first runner-up in the Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao sweepstakes. Getting knocked out twice in his career has stalled him out slightly below the top level of the sport's stars.
But he's also among the most talented and often provides excitement. A win over Algieri this weekend could send Khan into a major fight for later this year or early 2016. You can catch the action on Spike at 9 p.m. ET.
Tale of the Tape
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| Per BoxRec | Amir Khan | Chris Algieri |
| Record: | 30-3, 19 KOs | 20-1, 8 KOs |
| Height: | 5'8 ½" | 5'10" |
| Reach: | 71" | 72" |
| Weight: | 147 lbs | 147 lbs |
| Age: | 28 | 31 |
| Stance: | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| Hometown: | Bolton, Lancashire | Huntington, New York |
| Rounds: | 191 | 134 |
Chris Algieri is slightly taller, but his one-inch reach advantage could prove negligible given Khan's edge in speed.
Although Khan is the younger fighter by three years, he's also far more experienced. At 28, he's been a high-profile figure in the boxing world for more than a decade now.
Main Storylines
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Amir Khan won an Olympic silver medal when he was only 17. In the years since, he has had numerous peaks and valleys in his career. On multiple occasions he has appeared to be on the brink of stardom, and twice he has suffered devastating stoppage losses.
Breidis Prescott knocked him out in the first round in September 2008, but he got his career back on track and by 2011 had unified the WBA and IBF light welterweight titles. In December 2011, he lost a hotly contested split decision to Lamont Peterson, during which Khan fell victim to a pair of questionable point deductions.
Peterson subsequently failed a performance-enhancing drug test, and the WBA returned its share of the belt to Khan. But in July 2012, WBC champion Danny Garcia stopped him in brutal fashion in a unification bout.
Khan has once again come back strong. He easily handled Luis Collazo in May of last year and looked even more sensational in cruising by Devon Alexander in December. He is a potential opponent for Mayweather or Pacquiao.
Chris Algieri has already been a winner in the Pacquiao sweepstakes, losing a unanimous decision to the Filipino superstar last November. He couldn't handle Pacquiao's speed and footwork, touching the canvas six times over the course of their fight.
It's a bit absurd that he was even in that bout, though. In truth, Algieri had proved he was at the world-class level but done nothing to demonstrate he was ready for an elite talent like Pacquiao.
In February 2014, he looked good in beating fringe contender Emmanuel Taylor by unanimous decision. In June of last year he won a hotly contested split decision over Ruslan Provodnikov.
Algieri showed great heart in that fight by coming back from two first-round knockdowns and battling with a badly swollen eye. But Provodnikov is a limited, if dangerous, fighter.
Algieri has the opportunity to demonstrate what he learned against Pacquiao. But Khan has the chance to look good against somebody Pacquiao and Provodnikov were both unable to stop.
Strengths
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Amir Khan has sensational hand and foot speed. His speed allows him to generate legitimate pop in his punches. He's not a crushing puncher, but his quick, straight punches allow him to dictate the pace of a fight.
Khan has fought for years at the world-championship level. He's an experienced and dangerous veteran fighter.
Chris Algieri is a smart ring general. He has a quick jab and good lateral movement. He achieves a lot of success by controlling the distance between himself and his opponents.
Before turning to boxing, he was an undefeated professional kickboxing champion. A large part of the defense in that sport comes from footwork and either closing or widening space.
He's also tough and durable. He seems to brace himself well for an opponent's big shots and recovers from them quickly.
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Weaknesses
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Amir Khan has lost twice by brutal knockout. That has to raise questions about his chin. Marcos Maidana also forced him into a bitterly competitive fight due to the Argentine's power hurting him.
Khan also has a habit of relying too much on his speed in place of solid defensive fundamentals. Opponents who punch with good timing are usually able to find his holes.
Chris Algieri struggled desperately with Manny Pacquiao's speed last November. Khan is at least as quick as Pacquiao is at this point.
Algieri has knocked out less than 50 percent of his opponents. His lack of finishing power will make it tough for him to take advantage of Khan's biggest weakness, his chin.
Amir Khan Will Win If...
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The best way for Amir Khan to use his speed to maximum advantage in this fight is to make sure he gets off first. He needs to establish a stiff jab and then attack off it with crisp combinations.
The best defense for Khan in this fight is going to be a strong offense. He needs to force Algieri to cover up, and then he needs to move away and attack again before Algieri can reset.
Manny Pacquiao didn't knock Algieri down six times because he was overpowering him. He overwhelmed him with speed, keeping him off balance for most of the bout.
Khan needs to put the same kind of pressure on Algieri Friday. With his chin issues, he needs to avoid getting into wide-open exchanges with the 31-year-old.
Instead Khan needs to attack aggressively, disengage smartly and attack again. If he can do it, he should pile up damage on Algieri.
Chris Algieri Will Win If...
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Chris Algieri has to use his ring generalship to slow Amir Khan down and take control of the fight. That's going to mean standing up to some quick, sharp punches.
He has to maintain a tight guard in the early going until he can start to time Khan's jab well enough to get off first with his own. If Algieri can manage to disrupt or pre-empt Khan's attacks, it will give him a chance to assert control over the tempo of the fight.
Algieri has to be ready to grab a quick clinch with Khan as another method of slowing things up. When he does, he should use that extra inch-and-a-half of height to make Khan carry his weight.
Prediction
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If Chris Algieri had a bit more pop in his punches, he'd have a strong chance of winning this fight. He has ring sense and is more durable than Khan.
So he'll be able to hang in the fight and get his licks in on Khan. But he's not going to hit Khan hard or often enough to prevent the quicker fighter from running away on the scorecard.
Khan should win this decisively by decision, as he did against Devon Alexander last December. In my ideal world, he'd face the winner of Kell Brook vs. Frankie Gavin to establish the obvious welterweight king of Great Britain.
I'm not sure beating Algieri is going to make Khan much more marketable as an opponent to Pacquiao or Mayweather at this point.
But winning this fight and then beating the winner of Brook vs. Gavin would give him a strong claim to being the heir at welterweight when Pacquiao and Mayweather both move on into retirement.
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