Amir Khan is the new WBA light-welterweight world champion, after a dominant win against Andreas Kotelnik! This win makes Amir the third youngest fighter to have held the title at just 22 years of age – who would have fought he would be doing this on the same stage as his shocking defeat against Breidis Prescott just 3 fights ago. Since that fight Khan is a changed fighter. His body has been transformed, with his trainers stripping weight off his shoulders, chest and back and adding them to his legs. His defence is much improved, and even a few questions were answered about his ability to take a punch as he took some good shots from Kotelnik and never really seemed troubled by them (and often answered them with a multiple punch combo!).
Khan’s speed and foot work in the fight were sublime. Kotelnick is a very good defensive fighter, with excellent counter punching capabilities. Although a majority of Khan’s punches were blocked, he was clearly in control and the aggressor even though he was fighting off the back foot. Under trainer Freddie Roach his defence was improved considerably, and he was using mature boxing techniques. They clearly had a game plan going into the fight and they stuck to it well. It would seem that the wildcard gym had given him fantastic sparring opportunities to improve his game, including sessions with the current world pound for pound fighter Manny Pacquiao. Khan only lost arguably 2-3 rounds, including round 12 which was mainly due to tiredness and desperation from Kotelnik to try and retain a title he knew was slipping away from him. This wasn’t down to conditioning, it was just that Khan had fought at a furious pace throughout the fight and was clearly having to dig deep in the later stages.
Now a WBA world title holder, there are many opportunities for Khan and many potential big fights as many doors open for him. Although he showed great improvement, management need to pick his next fight very carefully. There is a gulf of talent within these weight divisions, and he is still on a steep learning curve and shouldn’t be entering the ring with fighters such as Cotto, Marquez etc just yet (in my personal opinion!).
A brilliant undercard saw wins from Kell Brook, Paul Smith, Bill Joe Saunders, Frankie Gavin and James De Gale. Sadly Enzo Maccarinelli lost his 2nd consecutive fight in a bruising and bloody 3rd round TKO against the unbeaten Russian fighter Denis Lebedev which could signal the end of his career. Enzo’s right eye seemed to be completely closed from the swelling, and he was on very wobbly legs in what was supposed to be a come back fight.
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Posted in: Boxing Fight Review
Tags: amir khan, andreas kotelnik, enzo maccarinelli
