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Amir Khan’s moment of truth was supposed to come against Marcos Maidana on December 11, 2010. It was then that he would finally exorcise the Chin Demon, that devilish bastard that had haunted him throughout his career, or at least ever since Breidis Prescott ruined him in the first round in 2007.
Maidana was a limited fighter but a lethal puncher, someone who could either expose Khan as a fragile fraud, or elevate him to demon conqueror.
And he conquered it. At least, for awhile. Khan came out blazing like he normally does, ripping Maidana and dropping him with a nasty body shot. He got the better of a give-and-take battle and won the fight.
Except, instead of punctuating his win in the final round, Khan got bounced around like the town drunk in a bar fight, barely surviving the bout. After wins over Paul Malignaggi and a faded Zab Judah, he lost a sloppy decision to Lamont Peterson, and then nearly had his head removed by 140 pound champion Danny Garcia. He went after him like a crazed maniac, and got waxed in the fourth round.
He hasn’t lost since the Garcia fight, racking up four consecutive victories over light-hitting opposition. Now it’s Chris Algieri’s turn. And while Algieri is a decent fighter, he offers no punching power at all, which means Khan should be able to merrily blitz him with his chin exposed like he usually does without fear of reprisal.
The problem is that it proves nothing. It’s essentially a stay-busy fight for a guy desperate for an elite opponent. To Khan, it’s unfathomable that he hasn’t scored a Floyd Mayweather or a Manny Pacquiao bout yet. But really, it’s pretty simple–he hasn’t earned it. Now, we could argue that quite a few boxers over the years have scored undeserved fights with those two, but Khan seems to be seriously overestimating his value.
He beat Devon Alexander in his last outing, which was a solid win. But he needs to make an emphatic statement if he wants to be considered an elite fighter. The only way he does that is by beating a guy who can punch, not just surviving a puncher. Beating a guy with a knockout percentage that hovers in the 30’s is good for the record, but not so good for a guy trying to change the perception that he’d collapse in a heap if attacked by gnats.
Khan has been practically begging for a fight with Mayweather, and there’s very little doubt that he’s completely overlooking Algieri despite his words to the contrary. Still, Khan is talented enough that he should cruise to victory even if he’s blowing him off entirely. Then he’ll immediately go back to calling Mayweather out. Sadly, he may actually get the shot he’s been thirsting for, simply because Mayweather appears to have run out of other viable options.
He’s not going anywhere near Keith Thurman, and a fight with Garcia would probably garner lukewarm interest at best. And he’s more likely to fight Triple H than Triple G. So that leaves Khan, who has made it clear that he would be ready for a September battle if it suits Mayweather. And maybe Khan will do as well as some people think he could if he does get Floyd in the ring. He’s fast enough, and he’s in his prime.
But he’d be wise to stop the entitlement act like he’s proven something. Taking out Algieri doesn’t further his case. Algieri got this fight not because he earned it, but because Khan had nowhere else to turn after waiting Mayweather out for so long.
Algieri looked pathetic against Pacquiao, and despite the much needed change in trainers, he’s a serious long shot to upset Khan. But somehow, Khan will trumpet the victory as some sort of milestone accomplishment when in reality he’s beating a guy a couple of fights removed from ESPN.
You want respect? Fight Lucas Matthysse. Hell, fight Ruslan Provodnikov. We want to see him walk through fire and be upright when it’s over, instead of being carried out badly concussed. I’m not sure he can do it. Frankly, it appears that his handlers aren’t sure either–he hasn’t been in the ring with anyone even resembling a puncher since he got creamed by one.
Friday night on Spike TV, Khan will get to feast on another popgun fighter who is tailor-made for him. If he does his job, it may set him up for the biggest fight of his life this fall. Then we’ll see exactly what Khan is able to do against the absolute best.
And if he loses? If Algieri somehow puts on a master boxing class and beats Khan at his own game? I guess we won’t need to see him in with a puncher again after all. Eventually in boxing, one way or another, the truth comes out.
The problem for Khan is even if the best case scenario plays out Friday night, he’ll still be a question mark.