Amir Khan recently gave a great example of, as one person put it to me on Twitter, why "British fans hate Amir Khan so much." Khan spoke to BBC Sport and his ego was on full display:
"Pound-for pound, I'm way ahead of all the other British fighters, and I think people know that," Khan told BBC Sport. "[US broadcaster] HBO think I'm the best British fighter, the most skilful and the most exciting to watch."
... "Anybody who knows anything about boxing will go crazy for this fight, it's an exciting fight with two big-hitters and Judah's fought some big names - Kostya Tszyu, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Angel Cotto - and is a five-time world champion."
A few things:
- As the BBC mentions, Carl Froch might have some disagreements about the pound-for-pound issue.
- I'm not sure people do know it, as Khan isn't even on Sky Sports over some petty disagreement about the mess made with the McCloskey card in April.
- If I know anything about the rest of the world at all, it's that they love when you prop up the United States as the center of good taste and intelligence. I'm American and all, but, well, we ain't. HBO has "thought" a lot of things over the years.
- I really, really hate when someone pulls "anybody who knows anything about boxing." It's so cheap and lame. It's up there with, "You wouldn't say that to (x's) face!!!"
- As an aside, I love when people use "Miguel Angel Cotto," as if he's ever really called that.
Mostly I'm just amused by Khan. I've always liked his skills, but there has been something about him from the get-go that I didn't much enjoy, and this is a big part of it. He's incredibly smug. Always has been. Even when he tries not to be smug, it comes out sooner than later. And it's not that he should change or feel bad about it, it's just how he is. But it's easy to understand why people just don't naturally take to the guy. He's not exactly Ricky Hatton.