There’s an old saying in boxing: ‘Just win this one and look good next time.’
Will May’s middleweight title bout between Amir Khan and Canelo Alvarez be a boring, tactical encounter?
(Image courtesy of Sky Sports)
Amir Khan has stated he’ll do anything to win.
When a fighter emphasizes they’d ‘color outside the lines’ to win, it often means they’d ‘walk on the wild side,’ and intentionally foul if need be. When Fernando Vargas had Felix Trinidad badly hurt in Round 2 of their 2000 superfight, the latter unleashed a wicked low blow, forcing the referee to halt the action. While Vargas was given time to recover, Trinidad was able to clear the cobwebs and regain lucidity. The latter would go on to knockout Vargas in Round 12.
Was the low blow on purpose? If so, it was the desperate action of a fighter who would do ANYTHING to win.
But in Amir Khan’s case, “anything to win” probably means something else.
Is he saying he’d make it a dull fight if it greatly improved his chances? “I am going to do anything it takes to win the fight,” Amir Khan recently told BoxingScene.
“We have to be smart in this fight as it is a tough fight. It is not going to be easy.”
“I can’t make the same mistakes as the previous fights where used to get stuck in there too much. This time I am going back to the old days when I was a young fighter and I threw the right shots at the right time.”
Winning an uneventful affair probably wouldn’t do a great deal to enhance Amir’s stock. Did Mayweather vs Pacquiao boost Floyd?
On a stage as big as this, fans don’t want to see run, hit, hug and run unless, of course, it’s in the final minute of the fight and a tired fighter is coasting to the end. Who remembers De La Hoya vs Trinidad? Although many belived Oscar deserved the verdict, few complained but he ran the last four rounds, much to the chagrin to fans.
Let’s hope Amir Khan will do almost anything to win.
