Can I just shock you? I like Amir Khan. He is young, exceptionally fast and vulnerable, which makes him an interesting fighter as far as I?m concerned.
However, I would freely admit that I am, like many around the world, a huge fan of Marco Antonio Barrera. For me, he represents everything that is great and noble about Mexican fighters. Staying up to the wee hours to watch his now legendary wars with Erik Morales are memories that will live with me forever.
Unsurprisingly then, I approached Saturday?s fight with a certain amount of trepidation. After watching another favourite of mine, Oscar de la Hoya, being systematically annihilated by Manny Pacquiao last December I prayed that I would not have to watch a similar fate befall Barrera.
At the same time, I wanted to see if Khan really was a world champion in the making. I suspected that the best I could hope for would be Khan triumphing after a thrilling clash of styles with Barrera, the pair producing a fight from which the victor would merge a reputation restored and the loser with his intact.
Reflecting on the fight, I am in no doubt that Barrera?s reputation remains intact; that Khan?s has been restored less so.
I?m not saying that I was not encouraged by Khan?s performance ? he looked defensively solid, while at the same time betraying impressive hand-speed, movement and footwork – or that he did not boss the fight.
However, if one was to buy into the post-fight reaction ? both at ringside and in the studio ? we had been treated to a masterclass, a performance which had reaffirmed the belief that Khan is a world champion in the making.
I?m sorry, but I didn?t see anything of the sort. What I saw was a potentially intriguing fight ruined by a quite horrific cut arising from an accidental clash of heads in the opening round.
Yet, we were told after the fight that Khan had proved his doubters wrong, silenced his critics. I was truly flabbergasted by the way in which the cut was deemed irrelevant, inconsequential, a mere subplot.
I?m not saying that Khan did not look capable of dominating the fight from start to finish ? there was always that possibility that he might, given his superior size and speed against a man whose immense talents are clearly on the wane.
However, to be told that a technical decision win somehow constituted a comprehensive and career-defining win, I felt, was something of an insult to my intelligence.
It was also said that a knockout had been inevitable, that the cut had been a blessing in disguise for Barrera, that it had somehow spared him the embarrassment of a stoppage defeat. This was staggeringly disrespectful to Barrera.
I?m sorry, but blood was streaming from Barrera?s head and into his left eye from the first round on. The Baby-Faced Assassin told us that the cut greatly impaired his vision and far be it from me ? or anyone else for that matter – to question his integrity on the matter. This, after all, is not a man who has ever shied away from a battle, from doing things the hard way, so when he says that he could not see properly I, for one, take him on his word.
Of course, he also claimed he would definitely have won the fight with two good eyes and that is debatable. But what is not debatable is that he was severely handicapped by the cut.
Yet this was simply glossed over in much of the post-fight reaction and analysis. Khan is back, Khan is now ready for a world title fight, we were told. The last time I checked Breidis Prescott has not been granted a world title shot on the back of his first-round demolition of Khan last December so I do not see why Khan has suddenly skipped ahead of the Colombian in the queue.
And I think this is the real issue here: hype. It has followed Khan ever since he turned professional after his Olympic success and I think it is now why he is both on the cusp of a world title shot and yet also remains widely distrusted within boxing.
Indeed, I think it is the reason why there was apparently a 50-50 split in terms of crowd support in Manchester on Saturday night for what was supposed to be a ?home? fight.
Fight fans do not mind being told that somebody is the next big thing but not when there is clearly much for a fighter to work on, as was evident with Khan for a hell of a long time pre-Prescott. Hence the reason for the backlash after Khan was confirmed as Box Office?s latest headline star when he clearly was not yet at that level. Overhyping a fighter merely alienates fans.
I do not doubt for a second that this is an enormously talented boxer we are talking about here and with Freddie Roach now in his corner, he is undoubtedly capable of great things. He is, after all, just 22 and he has already shown that he is developing rapidly under Roach?s guidance. And I certainly hope he realises his potential.
But I reserve the right to reserve my judgment and I think that far too much was read into Khan?s ?victory? (I still think the fight should have been stopped in the first but that is a whole other argument!) over Barrera on Saturday.
Yes, he looked good but was fighting a visually impaired opponent. In my opinion, there is no other way of looking at it.
