MMA Boxing

Amir Khan Is A Serious Threat To Floyd Mayweather

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By @paul_past

Getty Images

Getty Images

It is often said in boxing that you’re only as good as your last fight, and no fighter last Saturday, Dec. 13, looked more impressive than Amir Khan, who dominated former welterweight champion Devon Alexander en route to a unanimous decision victory. Official judges at ringside scored the bout 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110.

Now that the fight is over, many in the boxing community have been forced to reevaluate how they believe Khan would do against the serial batterer of women Floyd Mayweather, who is also recognized as the sport’s pound-for-pound king.

Former two-time champion and Showtime boxing commentator Paulie Malignaggi said after the fight that Mayweather would have more trouble against Khan than he would against any other fighter, including Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao.

“Khan is more dangerous to Mayweather than Pacquiao… He’s got a very good control of range. Obviously the height helps him. [Mayweather] is great at counterpunching, but Amir is tough to counterpunch. You have to punch with him. Floyd is not the kind of fighter that punches with you. He counters. And you can’t counter Amir.”

While I’m not as convinced as Malignaggi is that Khan would defeat Mayweather, I do agree with most of his points. There is no question that Khan has become a much more disciplined and complete fighter since leaving Freddie Roach and joining Virgil Hill three fights ago.

Against Alexander, Khan proved that he could maintain his composure against top quality competition. He dictated the range and pace of the fight by utilizing his jab, reach and exceptional footwork, all of which allowed him to avert danger and set up vicious combinations.

But let’s be clear: Alexander is not Mayweather. One of the gleaming differences between them is that Mayweather can make adjustments in the ring when he needs to, so that if Khan were to find success in the early rounds, Mayweather would likely change his style on the fly, unlike Alexander, who seemed lost and utterly dejected against Khan after Round 4.

Yet the fact remains that Mayweather hasn’t fought a pure boxer since he defeated Zab Judah 11 fights ago. In that fight, Mayweather not only experienced a lot of trouble throughout the first six rounds, he was also knocked down (though the referee did not rule it a knock down). Keep in mind that Khan also fought Judah and knocked him out in Round 5.

Of course, styles make fights, and it could very well be the case that Khan’s style was simply more effective against Judah than was Floyd’s. The problem with that logic, however, is that Mayweather’s style is similar to Judah’s; both are defensive-minded counterpunchers with phenomenal speed and timing. And while Mayweather is obviously better than Judah, he will have turned 38 years old by the time he steps into the ring with Khan, should the fight actually happen.

Simply put, Khan has what it takes to defeat a 38-year-old Mayweather; the only question is whether or not he’ll be able to maintain his composure and stick to Hunter’s game plan. Malignaggi believes Khan can. After Khan’s demolition of Alexander, I’m beginning to see why.

Paul Pastorini is a Boxing Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @paul_past, find him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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