Khan takes Judah to school!

[Chambers2]

Khan was just too young, fresh and speedy for the veteran. Because of his style and attributes Khan is more likely to struggle with someone who has a) the rare type of exceptional boxing brain that Mayweather and Hopkins have got, someone who can neutralise speed because of their positioning. Or b) someone like Maidana who doesn't think too much and just throws power shots without waiting for the opening.

Yeah I agree.

Only the elite will stand a chance of outboxing Khan, the other way to beat Khan is by taking the 'Prescott' approach

What is the Prescott approach?

You not seen Khan-Prescott? Throw plenty of BIG crude shots and hope you get lucky

[DaveyH]

Khan was impressive, absolutely destroyed Judah. The only thing "low" about the shot that finished it is that it will probably become a bigger talking point than the performance. You know how revisionists work, ie in the future someone criticising Khan's career might say "and he only beat Judah by hitting him low."

Big shame though that so few people would have seen the fight, or even realise it was happening in this case

[whiskey]

Bit cynical of GBP to now be talking about a Morales fight.

The guy just lost to a guy Khan beat and whilst he did better than we anticipated, it's only because we all thought he was totally shot and fragile and thus surprised us all a little.

Can't see many buying that one, especially at 4am.

[Carbo]

'Old' fighters always struggle against speed of hand and foot - they just can't get their shots off. By the time their mind has registered the counter or the opening, it's gone - that's why their shoulders tense and they start loading up. Khan was just too young, fresh and speedy for the veteran. Because of his style and attributes Khan is more likely to struggle with someone who has a) the rare type of exceptional boxing brain that Mayweather and Hopkins have got, someone who can neutralise speed because of their positioning. Or b) someone like Maidana who doesn't think too much and just throws power shots without waiting for the opening.

Good call. However I think that Khan's speed can cause Mayweather some problems. Mayweather is 34 now, and doesn't throw punches in bunches any more. I would say Khan's handspeed is greater than Mayweathers, I was amazed by how fast he looked. Sure, Judah didn't exactly throw much, so Khan was always going to look fast, but then Judah was never really allowed to throw much. The body jab from the 1st round deterred him from getting his hands going.

I think Khan is always going to struggle against someone who is tough, can take a shot, and who can put him under pressure.

I was impressed with how good Khan's footwork has become under roach, he doesnt fight in straight lines any more, and uses his athleticism well.

Yes, it's funny, but those are two things that I noticed, too, James. That jab to the body in the first round seemed to really surprise Judah. It was so fast, connected, and just kept him off balance. I'm not sure it's as strong a weapon as Mayweather's, which is the best in the game, but it's definitely something he could use more.

And again, I agree with the footwork. It's really coming along very nicely. Did you also notice, about the footwork, that he used that slip and swivel that you see Roach and Pacquiao practicing on the pads all the time? It's one of the first times I've seen Khan use that in a fight.


One other thing was some of his punch picking. At the end of either the third or the fourth, when he had Judah covering up and in a crouch in the middle of the ring, he went in to attack quickly, but he popped out two hooks to the body. That was very, very nice punch picking, in my view.

This is the encouraging thing about Khan -- apart from against McCloskey, one can see Khan's technique improving with every fight under Roach.

Finally, I agree about Mayweather. He's more of a sharpshooter now, but he might struggle to do that about Khan, who has a very high workrate. Also, Khan has now faced a two American slicksters and has dominated every minute of every round. Obviously Mayweather is at least a couple levels above that, but it at least shows that Khan has no style matchup problems there -- perhaps quite the opposite, in fact. I think that you're right to say that Khan will struggle against bullish guys who don't mind taking punches to land their own, and aren't kept too off balance when punches and jabs land. I think someone like Maidana, but with faster hands, would cause Khan problems.

Anyway I'm growing more and more impressed with Khan.

As for Judah, I say again that I can understand how he might have thought it was a low blow, because you can see how the punch violently lifted the whole cup protector. But it wasn't low, and I still suspect Judah was looking for a way out. Earlier in the round he was complaining about his left eye, blinking and pawing at it, intimating he'd been caught by a thumb. Signs of distress methinks, and his "standing eight count" argument sounds more risible the more I hear it.

[jamesmcdonnell]

'Old' fighters always struggle against speed of hand and foot - they just can't get their shots off. By the time their mind has registered the counter or the opening, it's gone - that's why their shoulders tense and they start loading up. Khan was just too young, fresh and speedy for the veteran. Because of his style and attributes Khan is more likely to struggle with someone who has a) the rare type of exceptional boxing brain that Mayweather and Hopkins have got, someone who can neutralise speed because of their positioning. Or b) someone like Maidana who doesn't think too much and just throws power shots without waiting for the opening.

Good call. However I think that Khan's speed can cause Mayweather some problems. Mayweather is 34 now, and doesn't throw punches in bunches any more. I would say Khan's handspeed is greater than Mayweathers, I was amazed by how fast he looked. Sure, Judah didn't exactly throw much, so Khan was always going to look fast, but then Judah was never really allowed to throw much. The body jab from the 1st round deterred him from getting his hands going.

I think Khan is always going to struggle against someone who is tough, can take a shot, and who can put him under pressure.

I was impressed with how good Khan's footwork has become under roach, he doesnt fight in straight lines any more, and uses his athleticism well.

Yes, it's funny, but those are two things that I noticed, too, James. That jab to the body in the first round seemed to really surprise Judah. It was so fast, connected, and just kept him off balance. I'm not sure it's as strong a weapon as Mayweather's, which is the best in the game, but it's definitely something he could use more.

And again, I agree with the footwork. It's really coming along very nicely. Did you also notice, about the footwork, that he used that slip and swivel that you see Roach and Pacquiao practicing on the pads all the time? It's one of the first times I've seen Khan use that in a fight.


One other thing was some of his punch picking. At the end of either the third or the fourth, when he had Judah covering up and in a crouch in the middle of the ring, he went in to attack quickly, but he popped out two hooks to the body. That was very, very nice punch picking, in my view.

This is the encouraging thing about Khan -- apart from against McCloskey, one can see Khan's technique improving with every fight under Roach.

Finally, I agree about Mayweather. He's more of a sharpshooter now, but he might struggle to do that about Khan, who has a very high workrate. Also, Khan has now faced a two American slicksters and has dominated every minute of every round. Obviously Mayweather is at least a couple levels above that, but it at least shows that Khan has no style matchup problems there -- perhaps quite the opposite, in fact. I think that you're right to say that Khan will struggle against bullish guys who don't mind taking punches to land their own, and aren't kept too off balance when punches and jabs land. I think someone like Maidana, but with faster hands, would cause Khan problems.

Anyway I'm growing more and more impressed with Khan.

As for Judah, I say again that I can understand how he might have thought it was a low blow, because you can see how the punch violently lifted the whole cup protector. But it wasn't low, and I still suspect Judah was looking for a way out. Earlier in the round he was complaining about his left eye, blinking and pawing at it, intimating he'd been caught by a thumb. Signs of distress methinks, and his "standing eight count" argument sounds more risible the more I hear it.

Yes, when roach was quizzed about when Khan would be ready, he said 'its a question of styles making fights.' I believe that Khan has the tools to make Mayweather struggle. Look at how another tall, fast handed fighter in DLH made him look a little ordinary. Khan is younger, fresher and hungirer than Oscar was that night.

[Carbo]

Good call. However I think that Khan's speed can cause Mayweather some problems. Mayweather is 34 now, and doesn't throw punches in bunches any more. I would say Khan's handspeed is greater than Mayweathers, I was amazed by how fast he looked. Sure, Judah didn't exactly throw much, so Khan was always going to look fast, but then Judah was never really allowed to throw much. The body jab from the 1st round deterred him from getting his hands going.

I think Khan is always going to struggle against someone who is tough, can take a shot, and who can put him under pressure.

I was impressed with how good Khan's footwork has become under roach, he doesnt fight in straight lines any more, and uses his athleticism well.

Yes, it's funny, but those are two things that I noticed, too, James. That jab to the body in the first round seemed to really surprise Judah. It was so fast, connected, and just kept him off balance. I'm not sure it's as strong a weapon as Mayweather's, which is the best in the game, but it's definitely something he could use more.

And again, I agree with the footwork. It's really coming along very nicely. Did you also notice, about the footwork, that he used that slip and swivel that you see Roach and Pacquiao practicing on the pads all the time? It's one of the first times I've seen Khan use that in a fight.


One other thing was some of his punch picking. At the end of either the third or the fourth, when he had Judah covering up and in a crouch in the middle of the ring, he went in to attack quickly, but he popped out two hooks to the body. That was very, very nice punch picking, in my view.

This is the encouraging thing about Khan -- apart from against McCloskey, one can see Khan's technique improving with every fight under Roach.

Finally, I agree about Mayweather. He's more of a sharpshooter now, but he might struggle to do that about Khan, who has a very high workrate. Also, Khan has now faced a two American slicksters and has dominated every minute of every round. Obviously Mayweather is at least a couple levels above that, but it at least shows that Khan has no style matchup problems there -- perhaps quite the opposite, in fact. I think that you're right to say that Khan will struggle against bullish guys who don't mind taking punches to land their own, and aren't kept too off balance when punches and jabs land. I think someone like Maidana, but with faster hands, would cause Khan problems.

Anyway I'm growing more and more impressed with Khan.

As for Judah, I say again that I can understand how he might have thought it was a low blow, because you can see how the punch violently lifted the whole cup protector. But it wasn't low, and I still suspect Judah was looking for a way out. Earlier in the round he was complaining about his left eye, blinking and pawing at it, intimating he'd been caught by a thumb. Signs of distress methinks, and his "standing eight count" argument sounds more risible the more I hear it.

Yes, when roach was quizzed about when Khan would be ready, he said 'its a question of styles making fights.' I believe that Khan has the tools to make Mayweather struggle. Look at how another tall, fast handed fighter in DLH made him look a little ordinary. Khan is younger, fresher and hungirer than Oscar was that night.

Correct. Look at the way all fast-handed fighters have caused Mayweather problems in his late career. DLH, Judah and Mosley all caused early round problems -- and Khan is faster than them all, albeit considerably less powerful. The thing is, though, that Khan is going to keep it up far longer than any of them were able to when they fought Mayweather, and where DLH and Mosley both clearly had problems pulling the trigger, Khan does little but pull the trigger.

Mayweather would obviously be big favourite, and one of the reasons for that is that he has an amazing boxing brain. He gets plaudits for his speed, defence and accuracy, but his brain is wonderful and enables him to figure out fighters and change tactics mid-fight. But I also see a scenario where Mayweather struggles to land enough to win rounds early on, and Khan racks up quite a lead. It's possible to see Khan losing the "fight" but winning the match, in those circumstances, especially if Roach can devise a tactic to negate Mayweather's right hand. The counter right off the opponent's jab has been one of Mayweather's best weapons, now he doesn't throw as many combinations, and if Khan can somehow take that off the table, he has a chance.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Yeah I agree.

Only the elite will stand a chance of outboxing Khan, the other way to beat Khan is by taking the 'Prescott' approach

What is the Prescott approach?

You not seen Khan-Prescott? Throw plenty of BIG crude shots and hope you get lucky

That wouldn't work now. Prescott would get his ass handed to him if he fought Khan now. Maidana is a lot better than Prescott.

[TheCobra]

Just watched the fight, embarassing finish, Zab Judah just took the easy way out, bottled it basically cos the fight wasn't going his way. Zab Judah's had how many fights and he doesn't realise what a ref counting means? What a dick.

Good fight for Khan, nice easy defence really.

[whiskey]

Zab also bitched out against Clottey, believing he had a sizeable points lead.

People saying he fixed his own exit. Wouldn't surprise me to be honest.