Danny Garcia KO4 Amir Khan

Amir Khan appears to be the hard luck story of this era. His speed and punch volume are at elite levels . He is arguably the hardest hitting fighter in the 140 lb division. He deserved all the hype and exposure. But the chin. Oh, the chin is on a Johnny Bumphus level. Amir Khan looked en route to a sure victory for two and three quarter rounds. He popped Danny Garcia repeatedly with an excellent straight right and his speed often left the Philadelphian swinging at air. But, late in the third, his entire boxing career crashed to the ground courtesy of a “Swift” left hook. This was a loss that was even more tough to swallow for Khan then the Lamont Peterson debacle. Angel Garcia, Danny’s father, made some ignorant remarks about Pakistanis not being able to fight. For the record, fighters of Middle Eastern descent are rare but there have been few who have had success such as Prince Naseem Hamed, Omar Sheika, and Mustafa Hamsho. Not a hotbed for boxing but these are notables nonetheless. The remarks were unjustified and perhaps made in order to anger Khan. If Garcia’s brain trust wanted Khan angry and aggressive, they certainly succeeded. Frankly, after seeing the pre-fight meeting with Jim Lampley I thought the elder Garcia was just another defensive bigot. Angel Garcia stated that he “told the truth” about Palestinian fighters. But I’ll tell the truth, here. Garcia, in my opinion, got lucky. He closed his eyes and threw a left hook which caught Khan coming in. Maybe he was utilized Jedi Knight training but that was luck and not the Force. He had his eyes closed. Khan made a crucial strategic error in forcing the fight. Because of his shaky chin, his strategy should ALWAYS be cat and mouse, no matter the opponent. If there is a return match between the two I expect it would resemble the Terry Norris-Simon Brown rematch. Norris was stopped in four but got on his bicycle in the return match and put his superior boxing skills on display. It is easy to play the armchair Angelo Dundee, but I’m sure Freddie Roach realizes the mistake he made in strategizing Khan to become more slugger than boxer. Additionally, Khan will be better served if he developed some ruthlessness to his psyche. He agreed to fight Lamont Peterson in Peterson’s hometown which proved to be a monumental mistake. During this fight, he refused to clinch (despite being instructed by Roach to “hold on if you have to“) and his courage only made things worse. The guy has skills and should be a fan favorite because of his mad heart but I don’t see American fans embracing a fighter of Middle Eastern descent.