It ain’t easy being God. Just like in any big job, there’s going to come a time when you have to take sides, and in doing so, you’re going to let someone down. Of course, one of the perks of the job is that usually you get away with it, and the people keep faith with you regardless, even when you’ve seen fit to send disaster and pestilence down upon your unsuspecting flock.
On Saturday night God will look down on the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle, England, and have a decision to make, and whilst in the wider scheme of things it might seem a small matter for the man above, to WBA Light Welterweight Champion Amir Khan, and his challenger Dmitriy Salita, it’s a decision that could change their lives. Khan, a practicing Muslim, has no doubt who’s in his corner: “Religion helps my boxing, and spiritually and mentally it helps me to relax, to know God is on my side.”
In the other corner Khan will find New Yorker Salita, a practicing orthodox Jew, who will have brought his own secret weapon: “God is with me in the ring and that is inspiring.” He says.
God’s conundrum is nothing new, of course. Boxing is littered with the pious and the faithful, fighters who lace on the gloves believing that God is on their side, even as they lay flat on their backs, blinking up at the lights as the referee tolls off the fateful 8-9-10-out.
To their credit, Khan and Salita have done what they can to mute the inevitable clamor that will attend a fight between a Muslim and a Jew, and have asked that religion is removed as an issue for the fight. I suspect God will agree with them, since it takes the heat off him.
Khan, who won his title in July with a wide points verdict over Andriy Kotelnik in Manchester, has needed a little divine intervention in compiling his 21-1, 15 KO’s, record. Little more than a year ago, Khan was blasted out in less than a round by unknown Breidis Prescott, halting a seemingly irresistible march towards a world title. It says more about Khan’s connections, and less about his ring abilities, that he now finds himself as the holder of a belt so soon after that setback.
Not that Amir shouldn’t be applauded for his reaction to the Prescott fiasco. He left behind the comforts of home, took himself off to Freddie Roach’s gym in Hollywood, and re-learnt his trade in the harsh environs that have shaped man-of-the-moment Manny Pacquiao, and others. His opposition since that defeat, however, have been less than inspiring – a second round defeat of journeyman Oisin Fagan, and a fifth-round technical decision over all-time great Marco Antonio Barrera in a fight in which the Mexican split his head open in the first round and couldn’t fight through a curtain of blood, and then the world title win over weak champion Kotelnik, have not persuaded that Khan’s loss to Prescott has been expunged from the memory.
Salita, too, does not on paper appear to be everything a mandatory challenger should be. Sure, he’s undefeated in 31 contests, with 16 KO’s and 1 draw, but a closer examination of those credentials doesn’t stand up. Salita’s opposition has been less than stellar. Consider that his last seven opponents share 47 losses between them, and one wonders how he’s achieved his ranking in a talent-laden division.
Still, doubts remain over Khan’s chin – which was exposed by Prescott, and has been found and shaken by lighter punchers than Salita – and if the Russian can land convincingly around Khan’s whiskers then it could be an early night. Freddie Roach will be in Khan’s corner, with the greatest trainer in the world talking up his charge as a future pound for pound great, and Roach’s influence should be a major factor in Khan keeping his chin out of harm’s way for as long as the fight lasts – which this scribe suspects will be the mid-to-late rounds when Khan’s speed and technique eventually overcomes the game challenger.
God can take a back seat for this one, and leave matters to Roach, who He has clearly designated as the arbiter of all things boxing (ask Mr. Pacquiao).
Intriguingly, the undercard is headed by the aforementioned Breidis Prescott, who travels to the UK hoping to spoil the unbeaten record of yet another British hopeful, this time the former British super-featherweight champ Kevin Mitchell. Mitchell is 29-0, 22 KOs, and Prescott, 21-1, 18 KO’s, (he dropped a surprising 10 round decision to Miguel Vazquez in his last fight in July), so there’s likely to be fireworks in this one, and it seems unlikely to go the 12 round route. Mitchell is a highly capable performer, and we all know about Prescott’s power, so it’s a difficult one to pick – but on the evidence of the Colombian’s last outing, Mitchell should emerge with the win.
Also fighting is a come-backing Enzo Macarinelli, 29-4, 22 KO’s, who appeared to have given up the game after debilitating losses to David Haye, Ola Afolabi and Dennis Lebedev. Macarinelli’s chin makes Khan’s appear like granite, but he should squeeze past Krisztian Jaksi, who’s 6-12, record tells you pretty much everything you need to know about his chances.
James DeGale, 4-0, 3 KO’s and Frankie Gavin, 4-0, 4 KO’s, two of Britain’s brightest young prospects, also feature, taking on opponents who shouldn’t halt their early progress.
