Freddie Roach wants Amir Khan to avoid Marcos Maidana
by Scott Christ on Jan 7, 2010 10:22 PM EST
in Boxing News Analysis
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About a month ago, word went around that Amir Khan would choose to avoid a fight with hard-punching Marcos Maidana. Today, trainer Freddie Roach has told The Sun that he'd definitely advise Khan to do just that.
"It's a business and it's about the right fights at the right time. There are some good fights out there for Amir.
"He can outbox Maidana but he's tough, a good puncher and you don't want to exchange with him too much."
Roach suggests that Khan vacate his 140-pound title instead of facing Maidana, who holds the interim belt of the same sanctioning body (WBA).
This won't win Khan any new fans among the hardcore boxing fan sect, but it's probably the right career move. Khan's chin is terrible, and Maidana is a really nasty puncher. There are very good fights out there for the 23-year-old Briton, guys who are far less perfectly designed to demolish Khan's one real weakness.
That said, whether or not this means Khan will decide to avoid a fight with Maidana is up in the air. Promoter Frank Warren has matched him with just one big puncher before, and Breidis Prescott (who is no Maidana) knocked Khan out in 54 seconds. But they've shown the guts to fight big punchers in the past, so if Khan decides he needs to do this for whatever reason, it could still happen.
It's a fight I'd certainly like to see. It's one of those fights, conceivably, where you would be on the edge of your seat, since it could seriously end at any moment.
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I am not a fan of Kellerman but he described Maidana perfectly after his win vs Ortiz. You had a guy who was down, and then refused to lose.
He crushed Ortiz in the first punch after he was down. I mean looking back….how often do you get that type of reaction/response from a fighter?
Khan should avoid Maidana like the plague.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Yes that punch was excellent
It just about took ortiz’s head clean off!
"Honey i forgot to duck" - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Jan 8, 2010 10:14 AM EST up reply actions
Heard Khan on 'On the Ropes'
earlier this week, he seemed to convey that Maidana had opted to fight elsewhere?? Anyone have any info on this? He also said he’d welcome a Prescott rematch and also said he’s not yet ready to take on Tim Bradley, hold the back page I guess
Well I think during the holidays Maidana took a stay busy fight in Argentina.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
he fought on November 21
Knocked out William Gonzalez in 3
Bad Left Hook
"If bulls**t was poetry, Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini's name would be Shakespeare." -- Dennis Rappaport
by Scott Christ on Jan 7, 2010 10:35 PM EST up reply actions
I'm sure Khan said it wasn't possible for some reason
Maybe I misheard. I thought he was saying Maidana had something in the pipelines. It seemed interesting to me that he was so against a fight with Bradley at this point rather than the usual macho ’’i’ll fight anyone’’ bs.
Khan seems pretty genuine.
Bad Left Hook
"If bulls**t was poetry, Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini's name would be Shakespeare." -- Dennis Rappaport
by Scott Christ on Jan 7, 2010 10:47 PM EST up reply actions
Well Bradley is pretty damn good…. and would take his 0 away from him in my opinion.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
His '0'?
I’ll give you a second to reconsider… :)
Some people are acting like Pacquiao should be expected to have just gone, "Yeah sure, let’s do something I’ve never done before because your dad made some dumbass baseless comment."
(SC, 28/12/09; http://www.badlefthook.com/2009/12/27/1221143/mayweather-pacquiao-update-bob#comments)
I was thinking of Mayweather…
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Good catch..... :)
Some people are acting like Pacquiao should be expected to have just gone, "Yeah sure, let’s do something I’ve never done before because your dad made some dumbass baseless comment."
(SC, 28/12/09; http://www.badlefthook.com/2009/12/27/1221143/mayweather-pacquiao-update-bob#comments)
I'll reiterate what I said in a post a while back
This is downright cowardice. Call it business, call it whatever you like, but it is cowardice. If you’re going to win a belt then you run away from a mandatory challenger that you think you might lose to, it is downright cowardice. I’ve been pulling for Khan for several fights now, but I just can’t do that if he pulls this.
He isn’t the first nor the last fighter to duck another fighter.
Hammed for years ducked Marquez, Bowe ducked Lewis, etc…
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
My point is that ut is just the way it is… I don’t like it but it isn’t something we have not seen before.
At this point there are more reasons to look for another fight for him than to test himself vs a fighter of Maidana’s pedigree.
Fact is that he(Khan) just isn’t a world class fighter, and vs Maidana he would be facing a world class fighter with a world class punch and worse even worse; resolve,will,heart.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
Khan is way more skilled than Maidana. If Khan had even an average chin I’d pick him to beat Maidana by virtual shutout.
Bad Left Hook
"If bulls**t was poetry, Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini's name would be Shakespeare." -- Dennis Rappaport
by Scott Christ on Jan 7, 2010 11:23 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah that goes without saying but all it takes is one punch for it to be over.
We don’t know how Khan would look after 7 or 8 rounds of playing prevent D, but I am sure he will break down vs a guy who has world class power. It has happened with more skilled fighters (Bute anyone?) with much more proven set of whiskers.
The thing is that Khan and his handlers don’t want to end up like Taylor and have one too many KO losses on their resume.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
But Khan doesn't
and therefore Maidana is just about the worst style matchup possible for Khan – someone who can punch and cuts off the ring well.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
Oh it’s a hideous style matchup, but I hesitate to call Maidana “world class” if Khan isn’t. They’re on the same level with different flaws, and Khan’s is fatal against Maidana.
Bad Left Hook
"If bulls**t was poetry, Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini's name would be Shakespeare." -- Dennis Rappaport
by Scott Christ on Jan 7, 2010 11:58 PM EST up reply actions
I think the fact that no champ wants to face him kinda defacto makes him a world class fighter.
"Boxing is dirty," said Casamayor. " The day I’m not ready to be a dirty fighter is the day I don’t fight anymore because it will mean that I have no heart for it anymore."
I’ll guarantee you Tim Bradley would fight him if it came up.
Bad Left Hook
"If bulls**t was poetry, Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini's name would be Shakespeare." -- Dennis Rappaport
by Scott Christ on Jan 8, 2010 12:19 AM EST up reply actions
Tim Bradley would fight Chris Arreola, if it came up.....
Some people are acting like Pacquiao should be expected to have just gone, "Yeah sure, let’s do something I’ve never done before because your dad made some dumbass baseless comment."
(SC, 28/12/09; http://www.badlefthook.com/2009/12/27/1221143/mayweather-pacquiao-update-bob#comments)
by Chaos100 on Jan 8, 2010 1:11 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
It's really good to see
how well hardcore fans have reacted to the dedication to taking challenges that bradley has displayed.
"Honey i forgot to duck" - Jack Dempsey
by Drunken cutman on Jan 8, 2010 10:17 AM EST up reply actions
Although Kahn is now a Champ, he still is on a massive learning curve, and when he 1st joined Roach, he had a shit pair of whiskers along with a shit defence!
Since he’s joined Roach he been rebuilding his career, changing his technique and how approaches his boxing, obviously being more defensive, protecting that chin. Do you really think he is gunna risk damaging what he has done in the past 14 months or so, by risking another destructive loss?
Right now I would probably pick Maidana by KO, but kahn has so much potential and talent, that with a little more nurturing of those skills, he can outbox Maidana. So this is a smart buisness move, and the correct move.
by Sweet science on Jan 8, 2010 11:32 AM EST up reply actions
I have to say I agree with this. This should be called out just like any other guy in boxing. Floyd Mayweather has made a series of “good career moves” in avoiding people like Margarito, Williams and Mosley. Yet he correctly gets criticized for it. Khan should too. Face it, he is no longer a prospect. He is a champion.
It is within his rights to avoid a fighter like Maidana but we shouldn’t laud him for good career sense, we should call him out for being scared and being a coward.
by BabyBull1289 on Jan 8, 2010 12:38 AM EST up reply actions
To be fair, Khan hasn’t firmly turned it down. Roach just says he’d tell him not to do it.
Bad Left Hook
"If bulls**t was poetry, Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini's name would be Shakespeare." -- Dennis Rappaport
by Scott Christ on Jan 8, 2010 12:41 AM EST up reply actions
But there's no way Frank Warren lets it happen either
unless Khan really holds his hand over the fire.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
I said it awhile back that Khan sould take the fight. He can out box him. With his speed of hand and foot he can stay out of range and add up the punches. Plus he has to get that monkey off his back at some stage. He will need to step in with a puncher and do what he can to win. Maybe Juan Urango.
It definatly would be an exciting, edge of your seat fight. I always say one of the reasons i love boxing is cause unlike any other sport (mma not included) were it can end at any moment. The time frame is there but you cant leave and come back to check the score or hope for a come back.
"Good, so it can’t go any deeper." - Arturo Gatti after being told he was cut to the bone
In an ideal world
Khan would take the fight and “be a man” or not “be a coward” or whatever. But in an ideal world there would also only be one belt in each division and boxing would be on the front page of the sports section every now and then. However this simply isn’t the case and we should just accept that.
Sure it would be lovely if boxers really did take on all challengers but that’s just not the case and frankly it never has been. If I was Amir Khan I would not fight Marcos Maidana. Would you? Honestly?
"Honey i forgot to duck" - Jack Dempsey
How much did Kotelnik have to rely on his chin in his fight against Maidana? If it wasn’t that much, could Khan learn to imitate Kotelnik’s style and beat Maidana that way? I know Kotelnik-Maidana was close and that Khan wouldn’t be able to do Kotelnik’s style as well as Kotelnik can, but on the other hand, Khan is more gifted than Kotelnik is.
Kotelnik got pounded pretty good
And while Kotelnik pretty clearly outboxed Maidana most of the fight, I think Maidana won the fight based on the cleaner, more effective punching. If that fight was in the US (which is neutral ground) and not in Europe, I’m pretty sure Maidana would have won. It was a close fight though.
Bad Left Hook - The SB Nation boxing blog
"Baseball is played on the field, not on a calculator."
D-CUT
Yes and no, if I were Khan I would fight anyone my Team thought I was “ready” for, ya’ gotta trust your Team. That being said, an integral part of his Team, his trainer Freddie Roach has only been in place a very short time and apparently FR is not comfortable with Maidana. Thats part of Freddies job to judge where his fighter is in terms of who he is ready to fight, if I’m Frank Warren, I listen to Freddie. Peace!!
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