There’s a misconception among fight fans Amir Khan is “chinny.”
Some now are even referring to him as Amir ‘Chin’ Khan, a supposed play on words for Amir ‘King’ Khan. (Main image courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions)
Many criticize him for his alleged inability to absorb hard shots but the evidence shows Khan is not hurt easily and fights admirably when he is.
Perhaps he has – or at least had – some defensive holes but contrary to popular belief, his chin isn’t nearly as suspect as most think – And, as a fighter, he’s quite courageous.
Khan is not the most faultless fighter in boxing nor in either the welterweight or jr welterweight divisions but he certainly may be one of the toughest.
Khan vs Prescott – September 2008 Amir was flattened by Prescott (then 19-0, 16 KO), a big puncher who was able to land murderous shots cleanly. To his credit, Khan arose after the first knockdown and attempted to engage his foe instead of holding and subsequently got tagged flush again.
When an explosive KO artist, like Prescott, lands multiple powershots “flush” and within a matter of seconds, he’ll almost always knockout his opponent. Credit to Khan for not looking for a place to hide after the knockdown… In a situation where he should have held, he tried valiantly to fight back after he was floored the first time.
After the second knockdown, Khan would fail to beat the count.
Prescott, a few years later, would come 75 seconds shy of defeating Mike Alvarado in a scheduled 10 round bout on the undercard of Pacquiao vs Marquez III.
Khan vs Maidana – December 2010 How quickly fans forget how Khan was tagged cleanly and often by KO artist Marcos Maidana (then 29-1, 27 KO), one of the hardest punchers, pound-for-pound, in boxing.
Khan withstood Maidana’s wicked attack and, unlike Marcos, wasn’t knocked off his feet, and would go on to win a unanimous decision.
Khan vs Maidana was called one of the ‘fights of the decade’ by Oscar De La Hoya.
Khan vs Peterson – December 2011 Against Lamont Peterson (29-1, 15 KO), Khan absorbed a good deal of punishment from another elite fighter, on the ropes and in the center of the ring. While Peterson is not a hard puncher when compared to other elite fighters, he’s a rugged, world class pugilist capable of smothering and wearing down just about anyone at welterweight and jr welterweight, if given the chance.
In a bruising fight, Peterson landed a lot of hard, effective body shots and both fighters engaged in roughhousing on the inside. In the end, Peterson edged Khan via split decision. Khan incurred point deductions in rounds seven and twelve for excessive pushing, costing him the fight. At no time did Khan appear badly hurt or compromised.
Khan vs Garcia – July 2012 Amir Khan looked sharp and every bit of dominant in the opening two rounds against Danny Garcia, landing tight shots in between Garcia’s wide, looping punches. But in Round 3, Garcia planted his feet, twisted his torso and uncorked a massive, perfectly-timed left hook. The shot, thrown with the weight of Garcia’s body fully behind it, caught Amir Khan flush on the side of neck just below the ear, flooring him for only the second time in his career.
It was a shot that would have knocked down any jr middleweight, not to mention anyone in that division (jr welterweight). (The real key… Don’t be caught so flush by punches like that)
Hard punches that land cleanly on the upper side of the neck under the ear don’t always produce a knockout but can shock the brain and cause the recipient to stagger and wobble badly – and Amir Khan did just that.
Unable to get on his bicycle, Amir Khan was now forced to stand toe-to-toe and slug it out with Garcia. Receiving more than he was giving, a shaky Khan would survive the round. Having not recovered from the effects of the left hook in the previous round, Khan was on ‘queer street’ for the entirety of Round 4 but stood toe-to-toe with Garcia like a wounded tiger, refusing to submit.
The round was a classic as the fighters loaded-up and exchanged hard shots in dramatic fashion. And while Garcia got the better of Khan, the defiant Brit landed some huge punches of his own in retaliation.
What many forget are the fireworks Khan supplied – after he’d been badly hurt. Garcia would go on to score two more knockdowns, prompting the referee to stop the bout with Khan on his feet protesting the stoppage.
Pacquiao vs Marquez IV Last December’s meeting between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez is a clear example of what happens when a fighter gets hit “flush” in the right place and at the right time by an elite opponent. No one is saying Pacquiao can’t take a punch… He’s a warrior who had already gotten up from one hard knockdown earlier in the bout and recovered well.
While Khan may have (or had) some holes defensively, let’s be fair. He’s weathered a few storms and has attempted to fight back harder each time he’s been hurt. Moreover, like Manny Pacquiao in December, Khan has simply had lapses in concentration and left himself open for “clean” shots from heavy punchers which would have probably knocked out anyone in those respective divisions. (Given they landed as flush)
