- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Admin Super
Back on May 13th, British boxing sensation Amir Khan announced his retirement from the sport. In what turned out to be his final fight – against fellow Brit and archrival Kell Brook – the Bolton-born fighter looked like a shadow of his former self. Online bookmakers such as Bet365, which provides betting and free offers on boxing matchups, had made Khan a slight underdog for that bout, but even they would have been surprised at just how easily the former light-welterweight world champion was taken apart. His Sheffield-born nemesis was far too big and too strong for the now 35-year-old Kahn, and that was evident from the get-go. He did display that famous heart though, taking severe punishment for six rounds before the referee waved off the contest.
The performance was a far cry from the days when Khan was the unified world champion at 140 lbs. He took on all comers back then, and even back-to-back defeats at the hands of Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia weren’t enough to deter him. After those, he would campaign at welterweight, and further victories would pile up. A fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. even appeared to be on the cards at one point; however, the self-anointed TBE decided to go in a different direction, facing Argentinian slugger Marcos Maidana back-to-back.
Khan remains the British boxer with the most victories in world championship bouts on American soil, and here are his greatest…
Khan UD Marcos Maidana – December 2010
Back in 2010, Amir Khan had spent the last two years rebuilding from a devastating first-round knockout loss to the unheard-of Breidis Prescott. That September 2008 evening was the lowest point in Khan’s career and exposed his suspect chin. The defeat prompted him to move up from lightweight to light-welterweight and success was to follow. Victories over some of the sports’ biggest names, such as Mexican icon Marco Antonio Barrera and Paulie Malignaggi, led Khan to the WBA world championship and set up a clash with a certain hard-hitting Argentinian.
Marcos Maidana, at the time, was one of the most feared boxers on the planet. He had a record of 29-1, 27 of which had come by knockout. It would be the first test of Khan’s suspect chin since that painful evening two years prior, and fans and pundits alike wondered how it would hold up.
But it was Khan who was in the ascendency from the off, dropping his opponent with a wicked body shot in the very first round. El Chino would make his way back to his feet, but he was visibly in pain right away. Thanks to Khan’s superior hand speed and movement, he looked to be well on his way to a comfortable decision victory, until Maidana landed an overhand right from the gods in round 10. The test to that chin hand finally come, and despite taking numerous heavy shots, Khan was never put down and managed to weather the storm, securing a unanimous decision victory and retaining his WBA light-welterweight world championship. The fight was awarded the fight of the year award by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Khan UD Devon Alexander – December 2014
Following back-to-back defeats against the aforementioned Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia, Khan stepped up in weight to welterweight in the hopes of capturing more World Championships and securing fights against bigger names. Victories over the overmatched Carlos Molina and Julio Diaz would follow, before he comfortably defeated Luis Collazo via a unanimous decision. Then, he announced a fight with former IBF Welterweight Champion, Devon Alexander.
Alexander the Great had only lost to Timothy Bradley and Shawn Porter prior to this fight, and the bout was seen as a ‘pick ’em’ fight. Nobody told Khan that, however. The Brit used his superior hand speed and boxing ability to pick apart his opponent from the outside. Alexander – a revered counter-puncher – couldn’t lay a glove on Khan, who comfortably secured another unanimous decision victory and moved closer to a welterweight title shot.
