Just moments ago Amir Khan blew Dmitriy Salita out of the water in 76 seconds, and looked like a completely different fighter than the one who got knocked out by Breidis Prescott last year.
Showing all the hallmarks of a fighter flourishing under the tuition of trainer of the moment Freddie Roach, Khan has now lifted himself among the best light welterweights in the world. In several publications he was already as high as number three behind his stable mate Manny Pacquiao and either Timothy Bradley or Ricky Hatton (depending on which rankings you look at).
The only problem with this is that having gotten a quick knockout against a slow starter in Salita, Khan didn’t really get the test that he needs before he can start taking on the best in the world. What Khan needs more than a quick knockout over an over matched opponent is a real battle against someone with the durability and defensive skills to give him problems.
The one criticism of Khan since his loss is that he has faced less than stellar competition. Salita is a decent fighter, but clearly had no business being in the same ring as Amir tonight and even on paper isn’t a big puncher who could have answered some of the questions about Khan’s chin. The worst thing for Amir right now would be to jump up in competition all at once and get in over his head, because someone who has an answer for his speed and doesn’t fade away from his punches will make him struggle. Just as bad as this though is to take fights that are too easy and will make Khan look a lot better than he might really be. Less than a minute of boxing isn’t enough to tell anything much about Khan other than that he has power and obviously sticks to Freddie Roach’s game plans well.
Next for Khan could be a fight against someone like Paulie Malignaggi or Juan Urango, not huge risks to his questionable chin, but with enough name recognition to get the fans talking. Khan has said he would like to fight Ricky Hatton in the future as well, but this is a lot less likely than the other contenders. The reason being that Khan’s promoter, Frank Warren was Hatton’s promoter at one time as well, and the two had a falling out that resulted in a drawn out legal battle.
He also mentioned in his after fight interview that he intends to hang onto his WBA title, so a few more defenses might be the first order of business for the man many are now looking at as the king in waiting. Poised as he is to eventually take over the reigns from his teammate Manny Pacquiao and win belts at multiple weights.
