It should have been called a no-contest, but I think Barrera wanted to try and continue. The reaction was a bit much, but thrill of him taking some punches and overcoming the big fear his supporters had that this might be it for him if he went over again, kind of led to that. Plus Enzo and Cook got knocked over early, so also maybe relief at not a total washout…(for my picks too!)

As short as the fight was, it told us a lot about where Amir Khan is going as a boxer. He has become fully aware of his limitations, and used his physical advantages, combined with his impressive hand speed, to overwhelm Barrera, making sure that the veteran didn’t ever get a chance to gain a firm base and rock Khan. His speed around the ring was exaggerated by the lack of mobility of his opponent, but you would have to think that he’s going to be faster than most guys at lightweight, and that will help him to avoid most power punches. It certainly did tonight, as Barrera only managed a couple of clean shots throughout the fight. Freddie Roach also seems to have drilled him into tightening up his defence, and that should continue to improve further down the line, as he learns to protect his rather fragile chin.

However, the big question hovering over Amir is not his current or potential ability as a boxer – he is clearly talented enough to be a future world champion. The question is what happens when he gets hit flush on the chin? No matter how slick he becomes, if he fights at the highest level he will get nailed sooner rather than later, and if his chin is as historically awful as most people believe, then no amount of skill in the world is going to keep him from hitting the canvas.

I don’t know whether it’s possible to hide or improve this glaring flaw sufficiently, but if he continues to fight in the manner he did tonight, I’m very interested in finding out

And btw, it should definitely have been a no-contest, Barrera had every right to ask it to be stopped earlier (and it probably should have been anyway). That cut was downright sickening

Who here believes that the fight would have been called off before the 5th round if it was Khan with such a nasty cut?

I also hate the circle jerk announcers that Sky Sports has. “OMG, Khan withstood that brutal left hook to end the round. A superstar is being born… etc….”

enzo and cook were about as durable as $2 wristwatch.

maybe im overstating this a bit but it seems that British boxing is tanking some. well atleast having true top guys anyway. the fans will still come out and make stars of their best. so id say its healthy. however, with hatton nearing the end of his career, joe’s retirment, khan…not being good and guys like enzo and cook getting flattened, doesn’t look good. only brite spot apprears to be david haye at the moment. an era seems to be coming to a close.

heres to the long awaited prince naseem comeback. what the hell happened with that anyway? naz vs. barrera 2 would be fun.

Cause i have to be honest, barrera looked OLD and a shell of his former self even in the pacquiao fight.. Sure he didn’t get knocked out, but he didn’t fight that much too..

British boxing took a beating last night, but it was worth it because Frank Warren took a beating last night.

It’s not as bad as you’d think, as we do have a lot of good youngsters coming through, and Ola Afolabi is British himself (from London).

Cook was comfortably winning until that hook/uppercut got him, and in his defense, he showed great courage getting up. Wish he’d held instead of trying to trade though.

Enzo Mac is a good solid fighter, but had no clue how to deal with Ola – Who was screaming to be hit with a left uppercut all night (and Enzo said that in the corner a few times).

I thought the Khan fight should have been stopped straight away with the cut, and also said straight away when it happened, that it wouldn’t be stopped until after the fourth. I was right.

To be fair, it proved nothing to be about Khan, he beat a small, old man. But at least he looked better in his tempo, and aggression. His high guard will help in the long run too.

Ready for Marquez? No.
Ready for Diaz? No.
Ready for Campbell? No.
Ready for Katsidis? Maybe :D

I didn’t know before that stopping it before the 5th would have resulted in a no contest, thats kind of disappointing thats when they decided to stop it right there, kind of cheap really. If it’d gone till 6/7 then it would have been less obvious what they were trying to do (gift him a W), leaves a bad taste.

Man Utd lost 4-1 at home (hahhahah). Every one in Manchester seemed to have a attitude and i saw 4 fights in town. 2 in the crowd at the MEN. It was crazy. From where i was(We payed for £80 tickets and got cheap seat shit) i could not even see the cut (but i had a belly full of beer by then) , but as i expected i knew Khan would dance rings round MAB. Sad to see in a way. Telling ya more people i spoke to were wanting MAB to win. Im just glad i saw him live.

Khan got the win. Good for him. Until we see what happens when he is in with a lightweight who can trouble him , i stil got my doubts.

I knew Cook would get beat but i was shocked about Enzo. Not seen it on repeat yet but that shot looked like it would knock out a horse. Enzo can come back if he does not go to MMA.