• Amir Khan stopped in fourth round by Danny Garcia
• Three knockdowns stun Khan after early dominance
If Amir Khan does eventually get a lucrative fight with Floyd Mayweather, nobody can say he did it the easy way. While the WBA's decision to re-award him the belt he lost in controversial circumstances to Lamont Peterson, may go some way to right the derailing of the Briton's prospects that occurred in Washington DC last December, it can never fully erase the disappointment of that defeat - whatever emerges about Peterson's doping practices at the time.
The proposed rematch never happened of course - Peterson's positive drug test saw to that, but Khan's team have chosen to continue with the high risk strategy that landed them in Washington DC (Peterson's hometown, natch) for the first fight, by taking a fight in Vegas against the unbeaten WBC champion Danny Garcia, as they try to rebuild the momentum of Khan's top-flight career.
If Khan has been tempted to look back with regret to the Peterson episode, or forward with anticipation to a possible Mayweather fight, he has had his attention rudely snapped back into focus by the pre-amble to this fight. Since a bizarre press conference to announce the fight in June, Garcia, though more particularly his father and trainer, the ironically-named Angel, have been on a media offensive - with the emphasis on offensive. It culminated in a bizarre display at this week's final press conference, where Angel delivered a long and free-ranging monologue about god, life and struggle (sample quote: I'm talking about Latino blood...We could have been a nation but we chose not to be one."), before gesticulating to Khan's followers, pantomiming obscenely as the Bolton fighter tried to speak and generally giving Haye and Chisora a lesson in public deportment.
More on that press conference in a bit, and the build up to the fight, but for now get your tweets and emails coming in to @KidWeil or graham.parker.freelance@guardiannews.com, check out some of the links above, or Rob Smyth's minute-by-minute coverage of David Haye vs Dereck Chisora, and above all, keep it classy...
Keeping it classy Part 1
Keeping it classy might be an uphill battle. Earlier this evening we had David Haye and Derrick Chisora get into the ring to settle what they started in a Munich press room. For all that boxing's a rough sport and for all that fighters know the deal when it comes to hyping a fight and are prepared to play that game, it isn't an actual requirement to be boorish - let along treat it as a badge of honor. Haye and Chisora seem to have repeatedly struggled with that concept in the build-up to this one.
Anyway, earlier this evening they duly met in East London, as advertised by Danny Dyer (two words for which thankfully, there appears to be no American-English equivalent) and Haye knocked out Chisora in five, in a surprisingly lively performance for a ring rusty fighter. But I think we can all agree that the real winner was sport itself.
They did shake hands afterwards. So it was all worth it.
Keeping it classy Part 2
Lest I get smug about living in such a classy boxing territory as America (prop. B.Arum), I only have to consider the build up for this fight. Every time Angel Garcia has opened his mouth, we've been treated to an array of belligerence, "Hey, I'm just being honest..." offensiveness, and would-be-comic, ugly barbs - all prefaced with unintentionally ironic acknowledgements of his "loving God" (as opposed to the "punishing" God of Khan, apparently).
There've been genuine telling comments in amongst the flow of doggerel - mostly regarding the excessive hype around Khan, Khan's chin (though Garcia junior may be surprised in that regard), and his predictable style. And there's obviously a calculated effort to distract focus from Danny, who is less at home in front of the cameras, and to try to irritate Khan. But generally, as smack talk goes, Angel Garcia could do with an editor - particularly when he's brought up Khan's Pakistani origins. Referring to his comments that he'd "never seen a Pakistani fight", Khan took the bait to retort that "he's going to see a Pakistani fight on Saturday - and knock his son out."
As Garcia frothed at that response and hit back with taunts that are too dispiriting to repeat (you can wade through the press conference video below if you're masochistically inclined) it was actually Danny who gave us the more thought-provoking summary of all these antics:
"My dad has talked shit 23 times before I fought and 23 times I backed it up. On Saturday, it will be 24 times I've backed it up. We're a team, my father and I."
The WBC champion did join in with a little bit of half-hearted posturing as the two fighters eyeballed each other - demanding Khan look into his eyes. But for the most part he seemed to share the same semi-amused embarrassment everyone else in the room did, as his father seized the platform.
Thankfully, we're now past the point where the trainer's antics are relevant. Khan didn't seem unduly perturbed - reaffirming his belief he'd knock out Garcia ("I'm not going to leave him standing there - I'm not getting paid for overtime"), while Freddie Roach watched proceedings with characteristically understated bemusement:
""Danny, I wish you luck - your dad I'm not so sure about..."
.
It's from the ever-prolific Matt Rhodes - better known to our below the line commenters as Consortium 11. Sit up straight:
Garcia is a good fighter, albeit one who has reached the level he has by generally beating fighters who are past their peak and in the twilight of their (often illustrious) careers. He's not on anyone's shortlist for making it into the P4P top 10 any time soon (depending on tonight of course) but he's a solid operator at the top level.
Unfortunately for him his style plays into Khan's hands.
Khan has a few weakness that are at times glaring. The chin issue will linger (even if it is overstated at 140lbs... no-one with a glass chin takes clean shots from Maidana and stays on their feet) but on the whole what situations his opponents can exploit exist because Khan's near supreme physical make-up meant he never really needed to work on them. His speed of hand and foot meant that he never really needed to work on his balance because he could leap in and out (and few could catch him when he was off balance and open after throwing a punch), that same speed combined with his reflexes meant his technical defence was never that important and when he was developing he never had to face opponents who could actually get inside on him with regularity.
To beat Khan (outside of a single huge punch) one either needs to be an inside fighter with relatively quick feet, cunning and the ability to apply pressure for 12 rounds even if the first few rounds offer little success (as Peterson did) or a technical master who can counter Khan and pick him off as Khan's footwork and defence let him down (as McClosky attempted to do but simply couldn't throw the punches needed).
Garcia is neither of those things. In truth the range he likes to box act (just outside the pocket) is the range Khan loves his opponents to be. I see a Malignaggi like performance where Khan seemingly can't miss and Garcia seemingly can't do anything before a latish stoppage.
Then again, Peterson was meant to be an athletic boxer who used combinations and a jab while occasionally venturing inside to mixed success (his bout was Bradley was mostly in a phone booth and he found himself badly beaten)... and regardless of whether pushing should be penalised or not and regardless of PED's Peterson was a stylistic nightmare for Khan in a way virtually none predicted...
Tonight's fight is at the Mandalay bay resort in Las Vegas - where both fighters have fought twice. It was the venue when Khan beat Marcos Maidana by unanimous decision in December 2010, and also for his controversial 5th round knockout of Zab Judah last year:
.
For his record at this venue, Garcia earned a TKO in his fourth professional fight in 2008, and return the following year to beat Humerto Tapia, to take his record at the time to 12-0.
Also back at the venue tonight, is the Guardian's own Kevin Mitchell - who we're hoping will take the occasional break from his chosen vacation activity, prizefight spectating, to throw some crumbs of sweet science wisdom our way. And look out for his report on the fight, later.
And of course keep your tweets and emails coming in to @KidWeil or graham.parker.freelance@guardiannews.com
Kevin writes in from the arena:
Not exactly packed at the Convention Center - maybe 6,000 - but the cancellation of the first fight, against Peterson, has put a big hole in the gate. Can't expect fans to pay out twice. Still, let's see what atmosphere they generate.
Talk among the fight hacks here, by the way: impressed with David Haye's finish, but not a lot coming the other way. Delboy looked fit but fought like he'd trained in a chip shop. David has surely parlayed himself at least more talks with the Klitschkos. But has he missed the boat? Vitali, despite being attacked in the street recently, is on track to defend against Manuel Charr (the very same) in September, then go to the polls in October. Would Mr Charr take step-aside money to avoid being beaten up by VK. Er, I think so. Fingers crossed for our most entertaining miscreant.
The HBO coverage has started by the way. We shouldn't be too long now...
This is still a dangerous fight for Khan, and a perfectly credible one to take the place of the cancelled second fight with Peterson. Khan's convinced that Mayweather is still on the horizon, maybe in December, but should hopefully have learned the lesson of the Peterson fight when he looks at this bout on its own merits - something he arguably failed to do in taking the Peterson fight in the first place (a dangerous opponent, given hometown advantage, in a town hosting its first championship bout in years...).
So the facts for this one are: two young fighters, each world champions, and fighting each other as they approach their peak. The insider consensus is that Khan is nearer his peak than Garcia, for whom this fight may have come too early. That said, the consensus around Garcia was the same when he fought former champion Kendall Holt on the undercard of the first Hopkins/Dawson fight last year. Garcia survived a bumpy first couple of rounds to wear Holt down and win a split decision, before an eye-catching result over the Mexican legend Erik Morales - so he and his father definitely feel he's ready.
.
Doubts remain though, despite knocking down Morales in the 11th, it wasn't a wholly dominant performance by Garcia, even with Morales clearly a shadow of his best self. Eventually youth told - but the fight was axiomatic of a criticism that continues to dog Garcia: for all his father's bluster, his son fails to excite.
Khan always seems to excite, but his sidetrack into Peterson-land has seen him pick up an additional burden beyond a mere delay to his plans - after the high visibility point deductions that cost him the first fight, he'll be that much more likely to lose points for the holding and roughing up tactics that are an ingrained part of his repertoire. That won't help him in close fights.
Matt's back to discuss those crowd figures:
"It's worth noting that 6,000 (regardless of how many are papered) isn't a bad number of fans for the bout, especially when you consider it's a bout between a guy from the UK and one from Pennsylvania. In contrast Froch/Ward in the final of the Super Six had a smaller number... and perhaps most dramatically Chad Dawson's two bouts with Tarver struggled to have 3,000 fans between them (with only around 900 making it to the first bout).
Vegas may be the Mecca of boxing... but during a recession people are unlikely to travel and there are less high rollers to be plied with free tickets. Outside of true superfights and the rare few fans who can bring an audience with them attendances have been down across the board when fighters are forced to box away from their normal fan base."
Amir Khan v Danny Garcia
OK. Here we go. Garcia's ring walk is under way, with much studied swagger...
He looks relaxed as he makes his way to the ring. We're straight into the intros without too much drama. De La Hoya hovering in the background, grinning as the intros takes place. Garcia and team in garish tiger print robes.
Kenny Bayliss issues last minute instructions and we'll soon be off...
Both fighters tipped the scales at 139 lbs by the way - didn't get a chance to post up the weigh-in (but basically the fighters got weighed). Khan bouncing on the spot. Garcia looking at him very sullenly before they touch gloves. The bell goes and Khan is the early aggressor - Garcia countering decently though as Khan comes in. Nice left by Khan and a couple of hard rights over the top, that Garcia takes without trouble. Another right around the minute mark gets through to Garcia, but then Garcia looks to be landing a couple of body punches, but one of them is deemed low. Khan declines the option of a 5 minute break and is keen to continue. He takes the round, but Garcia will feel he's in it. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 10-9 Garcia
Khan picks up the tempo early in the second and beginning to throw a few combinations from distance. He's on his toes and looking strong, but Garcia lands a decent right at the two minute mark to remind him he won't have it all his own way tonight. But in the last minute, as Garcia seemingly tries to up the tempo, he suddenly reels back in disgust as a cut opens over his right eye - he may be claiming he was butted. It looks nasty and should encourage him to inject some urgency - he looks strong but much slower than Khan. Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 10-9 Garcia
Khan still looking much faster. In a telling moment at the two minute mark, Garcia's head whips round as if he's wondering where his opponent went. Khan looks like he's concentrating well. He needs to. Even outboxing Garcia, his opponent is dangerous on the counter and still landing. Garcia is looking marked now. When...SUDDENLY WITH 20 SECS LEFT KHAN IS DOWN. A GREAT LEFT FROM GARCIA. Khan staggers to his feet and is given an eight count and stumbles to the bell. This fight has been turned on its head!
Guardian unofficial scorecard: Khan 8-10 Garcia
Garcia comes racing out and pressurizes Khan, whose knee touches, so that will be another knockdown. Big punches from Garcia in the follow up, with Khan all over the place, but the man whose chin has been doubted digs deep and fights back with tremendous heart. But Garcia's left hook is regularly finding its range and rocking Khan. They're exchanging, as the round goes on, which will suit Garcia, and with 40 secs to go Khan is down again...AND BAYLISS STOPS IT! WHAT A ROUND! WHAT A WIN!
GARCIA WINS!
Perfect counter-punching from Garcia for the first knockdown in that last round, and by the time of the second, Garcia had seen off Khan's attempted comeback, found his range repeatedly, and it didn't take much to put the British fighter down.
Garcia is being interviewed. He thanks God, his family, all of Philadelphia and "Latinos around the world".
"I feel like great fighters bring the best out of me. Khan is a great fighter."
They're showing the first knockdown - it's a carbon copy of the Morales knock down. Stylistically strange - it looks like he's throwing it blind, but it did the damage.
"Whoever's out there - I want to fight the best."
"It just wasn't my night...We did get complacent and we paid for that...I was surprised that the ref had stopped the fight there."
What now for him, after his third loss?
Final thoughts in a minute.
Garcia was in the fight the whole way, but Khan was picking him off relatively easily until the knockdown and was marking him up, pretty much as the form book suggested. The final round was tremendous. Garcia had found his range and was finding Khan at will, but in the one silver lining of this fight for him, Khan didn't fold, but fought back with tremendous resilience, before the second knockdown was enough for Bayliss to step in - probably the right decision with the heavy blows Khan was shipping as he tried to stay in the fight.
I thought Khan would win comfortably and I was wrong. I don't think I'll be the only one. This was a stunning win for Garcia, who now dominates the 140lb division.
As Angel Garcia put it:
"The writers got their foot so deep in their throat, that they don't know how to get it out after this. That's how deep they got their foot in their throat."
That said, I'll leave the final word to Matt Rhodes:
I was going to say that in the early rounds, even though Khan was winning Garcia was doing a very good job of countering and picking him off... Khan would land a jab and a straight right and Garcia would land a clean hook to the chin. It wasn't enough to win rounds but it was enough to be worrying... and it paid off in the end. Khan appeared over-confident of being able to take Garcia's power... and paid for it. I talked about his weak technical defence and tendency to be off balance... and that's what happened here. I just didn't think Garcia was the man to exploit it.
Khan's career may not be over... Golden Boy have invested enough of him that if Ortiz can get second (and third... and now possibly fourth) chances then Khan will probably get more time. 140lbs is currently a pretty open division with the likes of Bradley, Alexander, Maidana and Paulie all moving up to 147lbs so there are clear options for Khan there to get both a soft comeback and into the world title picture... but this is certainly a huge blow, especially coming so soon after the Peterson bout.
We'll see what comes next. Khan must be wishing he'd never heard the name Lamont Peterson...
That's it from me. Kevin's report will be up later. Thanks for all your tweets and emails. Sorry I didn't get to use them all. Good night.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jul/15/amir-khan-danny-garcia-live
Iain Chambers Supermarkets Petrol prices Julio Arca Peter Beagrie ITV
No comments:
Post a Comment