Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana: 10 Reasons Khan Can Be the Next Great One
Amir 'King' Khan takes on Argentine slugger Marcos Maidana on Saturday night in a classic boxer vs. puncher contest.
Many have asked whether this fight will be the night a glass-chinned pretty boy is exposed, or whether this is yet another step on the road to greatness.
The truth is likely the latter. Amir Khan is one of world boxing's brightest young talent, and not only will he beat Maidana, he has the ability to create a significant legacy as a great of the ring.
Here we give you 10 reasons Khan can be the next great one.
Freddie Roach
1 of 10
Freddie Roach is simply the hottest trainer in the sport right now. Roach has built his Wild Card Gym into a Mecca for developing fighters, and also turned Manny Pacquaio into the world's top fighter.
Roach has an excellent eye for talent, a meticulous attention to detail in preparation, and an obsessive desire to groom the best fighters in the world.
Pacquiao is drawing his fighting career to a close as he prepares to enter the world of politics. That is a sad thing for most fight fans, but not for fans of Khan. When Pacquiao retires, Khan is in line to become Roach's No. 1 project.
After the results he achieved with Pacquiao, what can he do guiding the career of Khan?
Manny Pacquiao
2 of 10
To improve in sports, your preparation is key, and if you can simulate competition in practice you will go a long way to reaching your full potential. In sharing the Wild Card Gym with Manny Pacquiao, Khan has access to an invaluable resource.
Any fighter can watch tape of Pacquiao in action and take notes, but Khan gets to see the full picture, and immerse himself in excellence.
The two have shared preparation camps, sparred together, raced each other in sprints and studied video together. Khan has seen on a daily basis what it takes to be great, and also gets to pick the mind of the great man for information and knowledge.
Also, if Khan can deal with the speed of Pacquiao in training, is there an opponent he will ever face who can reproduce that level of speed on fight night?
Amateur Pedigree
3 of 10
Khan received a solid schooling and foundation in the sport before turning professional. A youthful Khan made a splash early by winning three English Schools titles, three junior ABA titles, and a 16-year-old Khan captured goal at the 2003 Junior Olympics.
Khan continued his success in 2004 as he won a gold medal at the European Student Championships, and also captured the World Junior Lightweight title. His early amateur career also included a second round stoppage win over 'Vicious' Victor Ortiz.
The amateur career of Khan peaked as he qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics as a 17-year-old. A speedy young Khan captured the imagination of fans throughout the world as he cut a swathe to the final before succumbing to veteran Cuban Mario Kindelan. Incidentally, Khan did beat Kindelan soon after before turning professional.
Among Khan's admirers after the Olympics were Evander Holyfield. "It was a great performance, he's got huge potential," said the former World Heavyweight Champion.
Some critics like to point out that Audley Harrison won a gold medal but has had a disastrous professional career.
That argument however has one major flaw; Harrison hung around as an amateur until the age of 28 to win his gold, and was a decade behind many professional fighters in terms of development.
Khan won his silver at 17 and already has years of professional experience in the bag at the age of 24.
British Amateur Boxing Association (BABA)
4 of 10
Great Britain has a long history of producing high-class fighters, yet the governing body still manages to carry a reputation of being a bunch of old men who cannot keep up with the pace and demands of modern sports.
While BABA like to throw the flag around and play the national pride card when discussing fighters, they do not come up with the financial backing and support system of other nations.
Amir Khan expressed a desire to remain amateur and compete in one more Olympics to win gold. However, it was not long before he turned professional citing unreasonable backing from BABA. This is not the first time this has happened or the last.
James DeGale, Frankie Gavin and Tony Jeffries are all young British professionals who turned professional earlier than planned.
Amir's younger brother Haroon was also denied the opportunity to represent England in this years Commonwealth Games, instead representing Pakistan and taking a Bronze medal.
Rumors also still circulate that lack of structure within British amateur boxing contributed to Lennox Lewis' decision to represent Canada as an amateur,
The positive thing is, by Khan's amateur career ending early, he has gained years of professional experience that will be invaluable as his career progresses.
Speed
5 of 10
"Speed Kills," so the saying goes, and Khan has it in abundance.
Khan has the ability to let his hands go and land flurries of punches from a range of angles. He also has quick footwork that allows his to shift side to side, change distances and make him a difficult target for opponents to hit.
Manny Pacquiao has described Khan as the fastest man he has sparred with, and that is heady praise. Roach has also made the bold claim that Khan his so fast he is able to beat Floyd Mayweather.
Competition
6 of 10
Whether people like it or not, the standard of opponent in your generation will always have an impact on how great you can become.
The lack of quality opposition appears to be the main criticism thrown at the Klitschko brothers who so dominate the Heavyweight division. Khan certainly does not have that problem.
In the Light-Welterweight Division, Khan has a ready made opponent should he triumph over Maidana in the winner of the Timothy Bradley vs. Devon Alexander clash.
Fighters who could move up one division to face Khan include Juan Manuel Marquez and Michael Katsidis, while if Khan moved up one weight, he could clash with Andre Berto, Miguel Cotto or Shane Mosley.
While it is likely fantasy, a Khan vs. Mayweather clash has also been floated around in some media circles.
Power
7 of 10
While speed is the usual description of Khan, the explosive young fighter is not shy of punching power. Khan has won 17 of his 23 victories by way of knockout, and blew away Dmitriy Salita in his first World Light-Welterweight title defense.
Salita was knocked out in the first round, with the first of three knockdowns coming after 10 seconds. For some perspective, that fight is still Salita's only professional defeat in 33 fights.
Salita is one of six opponents Khan has stopped in the first round, while an additional six opponents have failed to survive past round three with the hard-hitting Khan.
Media
8 of 10
There is no mistaking it, the media play a fundamental part in establishing the legacy of great boxers. Where your fights are screened and what media outlets publicize you have a say in how you are exposed to fans.
Khan has some pretty powerful supports, with 'The Ring' magazine praising him consistently, and HBO showing the Maidana fight, Khan will get good media exposure.
The media attraction of Roach also helps the profile of the young English fighter. Khan will be followed closely and as the wins pile up, they will do so in front of a glaring media spotlight.
Breidis Prescott
9 of 10
Without doubt, the dynamite-fisted Colombian Prescott handed Khan the low point of his career when he knocked out the young Englishman in one round. Losses like this can be recovered from much easier than a 12 round beating.
The one punch effect had this loss drawing comparisons to the defeats Lennox Lewis suffered at the hands of Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall.
Khan summed it up well himself when summarizing this loss. "I would never say that defeat is a good thing, but you can make it into a good thing," said Khan.
With the path he has taken he may have done exactly that. The loss set in motion a 'Butterfly Effect'-type scenario that could be the reason Khan will become great.
What if Khan had won this fight with Prescott? Would he have moved to the Wild Card Gym under the tutelage of Roach? Would he be sparring and preparing with Pacquiao?
Prescott also give Khan the kind of defeat that will mean he remains alert and always bears in mind the value of defense throughout his career.
Humility
10 of 10
Success came very easy for Khan for a long time, as a result he had a cocky attitude in his early years dominating the British domestic scene. It seemed every win was followed by the brash young man spouting how he would beat Ricky Hatton or Manny Pacquiao or some other world-level fighter.
Those days are now gone, to listen to Khan speak now is to hear a young man with a dream and the awareness that nothing comes easy. It is likely that a combination of the Prescott defeat and the knowledge of Roach have showed Amir that he does not know it all.
A humble fighter with talent who works hard can be a great fighter, and that is exactly what Khan is going to become.
Roach had this to say ahead of the Maidana fight; "I have never had a better listener than Amir. You give him a game plan and he sticks to it. I know he will do that on Saturday."
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