Amir Khan v Paul McCloskey - Manchester, April 16

nacho libre · 17-04-2011 12:02PM

Chriscl1 wrote: »

Dudey robbed himself when he stood there like a scoulded schoolboy while the doc was looking at him. He didn't protest until the fight was stopped.

That could have been because he thought the there was no way the fight was going to be stopped. He seemed to shake his head in disbelief at the fight being stopped. Khan interperted that as Paul not wanting to continue on.
I wonder how Khan would feel if he was on the end of such a dubious stoppage. I still think he's a good fighter, and was winning the fight fairly comfortably on points, but he showed no class in the interview afterwards. He should have suggested a rematch, not because McCloskey was going to win, but out of respect for McCloskey and the sport itself.
The stoppage is even more ludicrous when you consider Barerra fought on for 4 rounds against Khan with blood pouring into his eye. Had the ref let it go another round and blood started impeding Paul's vision then no one could have any complaints at it being called off.
Can anyone here who has fought in the amateurs or as a professional say, they would have been happy to have their big fight called off in such a manner? Would you be content to say the refs' decision must be obeyed?

walshb · 17-04-2011 12:11PM

The talk about Khan's post fight intreview.

Remember, he was listening to reports that Dudey was saying that he was gassed and that he was going to be Ko'd. Khan is hardly going to be all nicey nicey when hearing that, especially when for 6 rds he was the guy in control. So, maybe it was Paul's interview that lacked class.

Wild_Dogger · 17-04-2011 12:16PM

WalshB ,.... you are a clinical case of a ' NUT-Hugger' .

Anything you say about Khan can be taken with a pinch of salt .

What would Khan have to do to disappoint you ?

nacho libre · 17-04-2011 12:21PM

Irrespective of what he heard, trying to pass off the stoppage as no big deal, and stating his opponent is only a european level, fighter and i'm world class, is the not way to conduct yourself in an interview after a controversial ending. Had it been the other way around, Khan, and his promoter, would be seething at such a controversial stoppage. McCloskey was well within his rights to object.

Wild_Dogger · 17-04-2011 12:24PM

nobody knows how the second half would have went ,........
and with khan's proven weak chin , it was more likely to happen in this fight than any other .

lee purdy anyone ?

walshb · 17-04-2011 12:24PM

Wild_Dogger wrote: »

WalshB ,.... you are a clinical case of a ' NUT-Hugger' .

Anything you say about Khan can be taken with a pinch of salt .

What would Khan have to do to disappoint you ?

Watch the fight, simple....

Khan hasn't disappointed me. Is he the best in the world? No.
He is a very skilled boxer, still not the finished article, but some of the excuses being made about last night are strange.

The guy wins every rd fairly handy and he is being criticised.
Paul is a good boxer, and posed issues, but nothing that
Khan wasn't dealing with. Khan was still winning well.

Paul would pose problems for anyone. He has skill, a good brain and
is damn awkward. But, he still was being outclassed last night.

As for the TWO interviews. If I was Khan and was after winning 6 rds comfortably and then
was told that my opponent was saying that I was gassed and was ready to be taken out, I wouldn't be ready to be all that nice and happy.

He spoke the truth. Paul is NOT world class. Khan is. Khan has shown it
and is the legit WBA belt holder. Paul too was being unclassy when making out that Khan was ready to go, was knackered. Him the guy after being beaten for 6 rds.

Wild_Dogger · 17-04-2011 12:26PM

juan ma ......anyone ?

corny · 17-04-2011 12:38PM

walshb wrote: »

but last night he was the ONLY man
making that fight, and winning that fight.

I'm just gonna bold the ONLY for added emphasis.

No one wants to criticise McCloskeys performance and if you do you're accused of a homosexual attraction to Khan. Truth is Paul did **** all to deserve all this righteous anger. He was feeble given the opportunity he was given and Khans analysis, ungentlemanly and perhaps bitter, was absolutely spot on. McCloskey is only European level, Khan is a step up from that and the stoppage only hastened the inevitable.

nacho libre · 17-04-2011 12:39PM

That Khan is world class is not in dispute , but you don't make a point of stating your opponent is way inferior, despite what he might have said about you gassing. It's a skewed opinion perhaps, but understandable given the circumstances of the defeat..
In any case Khan should have risen above it and been humble in victory given the controversial outcome.

nacho libre · 17-04-2011 12:44PM

corny wrote: »

I'm just gonna bold the ONLY for added emphasis.

No one wants to criticise McCloskeys performance and if you do you're accused of a homosexual attraction to Khan. Truth is Paul did **** all to deserve all this righteous anger.

I feel the anger is justified due to the wrongful stoppage, but i agree with the rest of your analysis. Paul's unusual style while effective against lesser fighters was exposed last night. You could make the case he slipped a few punches quite well early on, but after a couple of rounds Khan was hitting him with swift combinations without much coming back. Paul did not win a round in my view.

Wild_Dogger · 17-04-2011 12:48PM

walshb wrote: »

Paul too was being unclassy when making out that Khan was ready to go, was knackered.

Well Paul was the victim of a bad decision , i think everybody can agree on that for a start .
I can understand his anger , and giving an interview within minutes of the decision , you can expect emotons to be still high.

Khan ? .... well his interview gives us an example of why he gets boo'd by his homeland boxing fans .

He's arrogant , selfish , and bends the truth .
James de Gale is another similar personality , and he too gets the blunt end of the stick from his 'home' fans .

As for Victor Ortiz ,..... now there was a classy interview .

Thats how it should be done .

corny · 17-04-2011 12:51PM

nacho libre wrote: »

I feel the anger is justified due to the wrongful stoppage, but i agree with the rest of your analysis. Paul's unusual style while effective against lesser fighters was exposed last night. You could make the case he slipped a few punches quite well early on, but after a couple of rounds Khan was hitting him with swift combinations without much coming back. Paul did not win a round in my view.

The anger for the officials? Absolutely. I share it Nacho but the venom directed at Khan (not by yourself)? No ****ing way is that justified.

He went out, did a job on McCloskey and he's accused of rigging the fight, being out on his knees and generally being a **** fighter.:D Thats not justified.

nacho libre · 17-04-2011 12:55PM

corny wrote: »

The anger for the officials? Absolutely. I share it Nacho but the venom directed at Khan (not by yourself)? No ****ing way is that justified.

He went out, did a job on McCloskey and he's accused of rigging the fight, being out on his knees and generally being a **** fighter.:D Thats not justified.

I agree with all that. I should have stated the anger at the officials was justified.
I dislike Khan as a person from what i've seen of him, but it does not take away from the fact he is a great fighter.

Wild_Dogger · 17-04-2011 01:09PM

Poor Old Amir Khan ,........ a victim of the money-train agenda .

As Walshb said earlier , the stoppage had nothing to do with Khan .

I bet the Golden Boy 'cashing machine' were ****ting in their pants looking at all the upsets these days .

Better step in and stop it quick while he's ahead , you never know .........
And by the way , Golden Boy has the officials wrapped around his little finger , lets not be ignorant to what goes on behind the scenes here .

I wish boxing was a sport and not a business ....

walshb · 17-04-2011 01:13PM

Wild_Dogger wrote: »

Poor Old Amir Khan ,........ a victim of the money-train agenda .

As Walshb said earlier , the stoppage had nothing to do with Khan .

I bet the Golden Boy 'cashing machine' were ****ting in their pants looking at all the upsets these days .

Better step in and stop it quick while he's ahead , you never know .........
And by the way , Golden Boy has the officials wrapped around his little finger , lets not be ignorant to what goes on behind the scenes here .

I wish boxing was a sport and not a business ....

I am not saying that corruption does not happen, and who knows here, but seriously, it's clutching at straws to think that Paul would have won that fight. There is always a possibilty, maybe Khan trips over himself and knocks himself out, but for the 18 mins that Paul showed me, his chances were very very slim.

mark renton · 17-04-2011 01:16PM

walshb wrote: »

Hatton? I don't see any relevance here. Kahn is a skilled boxer. Hatton was never that.

i dont think the difference in class between hatton/pacman and khan/pacman is a much as you may believe walshb

khan probably edges it, however light-welter is not exactly the greatest division it has ever been - i reckon if khan steps up a notch there are probable 10 fighters who would beat him

walshb · 17-04-2011 01:21PM

john47832 wrote: »

i dont think the difference in class between hatton/pacman and khan/pacman is a much as you may believe walshb

khan probably edges it, however light-welter is not exactly the greatest division it has ever been - i reckon if khan steps up a notch there are probable 10 fighters who would beat him

I agree, 140 lbs isn't all that great. But across all divisons one can see weakness. Kahn is still only 24 (AND NEEDS IMPROVING). Look at Ortiz.

ebbsy · 17-04-2011 01:22PM

I think Freddie Roach summed it up correctly when he said there was no point in a rematch. McCloskey does not have the tools to beat Khan, even if they fought ten times. He also did'nt throw enough caution to the wind, for a so callled opportunity of a lifetime he just could not produce.

H. Flashman · 17-04-2011 01:48PM

Terrible decision to stop the fight absolutely terrible but having said that I see no point in a rematch. If the fight had been close up to that point then a rematch would be justified but the fact is it wasn't close, Paul should have come out firing on the biggest night of his career rather than playing the defensive game and simply not taking risks. Kahn was on his way to a shut out and Paul will likely regret not giving it his all from the get go. These strategies of surviving the first few rounds and then coming on late at the end are **** and if they don't work you look like ****. Audley Harrison had the gameplan of just surviving the first half of the fight against Haye and then hoepfully landing a lucky punch in the last few rounds look where that got him. For someone like Paul to beat someone like Kahn he would have to give it his all from the get go, be prepared to take 3 or four shots shots to land a decent one of his own and not just play at surviving in the hope that the other guy will gas out.

And whats with Mccloskey never going for the body? He's always such a headhunter i'd have been screaming at him to work the body.

Snappy the Moose · 17-04-2011 02:57PM

IMO Paul didn't show enough to warrant a rematch, a bad decision won't suffice with the boxing committee. The fight was one sided, there would be no appeal from outside Ireland for a rematch because from what we saw Paul doesn't possess any offensive threat to beat Khan.

It was unfortunate that he wasn't allowed fight on and I feel gutted for him, but he didn't show anything to suggest he could win a rematch.

makl · 17-04-2011 03:32PM

walshb wrote: »

I am not saying that corruption does not happen, and who knows here, but seriously, it's clutching at straws to think that Paul would have won that fight. There is always a possibilty, maybe Khan trips over himself and knocks himself out, but for the 18 mins that Paul showed me, his chances were very very slim.

He showed me he could do enough. He kept catching Khan with a swinging left hook after jabbing right moving right. Khan kept coming in with 6-8 punches, barging at McCloskey, but he landed no more than 1. Of course he was busier, but McCloskey's gameplan had to be defensive. He had to hope to floor Khan in the later rounds. McCloskey could have come at Khan as much as he liked, but does anyone here believe that even Bradley could outbox Khan sufficiently enough to gain a points decision in Manchester with Oscar, Freddie, and 3 English judges in tow? No way.

I was impressed with McCloskey that he wasn't afraid of Khan's handspeed, he didn't change his style for the especially 'great amazing' khan, showed that he was well able to slip or ship any punches - far more easily than anyone else i've seen fight him. To say Khan had this the bag ignores all of this. Of course Roach is going to say this anyway. What, he's going to suggest that they rematch instead of Bradley??! That his fighter is British standard only?

And more than likely, someone upstairs in GBP didn't think Khan was too safe in this fight either, judging by the premature finish.

Boooourns · 17-04-2011 03:39PM

walshb wrote: »

Well tonight he was far more special than Paul. Khan can go on and unify the division. He wants Bradley. I think he can beat him. Will that make him special in your eyes?

Is Khan perfect? No. He has weaknesses. But all fighters do. He is stil winning and beating his opponents.

Jesus this place got taken over last night haha. Even some suggestion that Khan is only just above Euro level!! The mist of hate decended down upon alot of peoples eyes towards Khan and even though i thought he was poor last night (McCloskeys awkwardness didn't help) he's easily in the World class level and the lad is only 24! He has a lot to improve though.
I did think his interview was poor last night and he'll have to stay in the U.S.A for a while now as the whole build up and including the fight was a complete disaster for him.

I'm sure McCloskey will realise he was getting outboxed last night and he could pull another big fight because of the way the fight finished.

If the folks that came on here just for this thread could try and watch the Juanma or Ortiz fight from last night then they can see the beautiful side of the sport.

walshb · 17-04-2011 03:43PM

Boooourns wrote: »

Jesus this place got taking over last night haha. Even some suggestion that Khan is only just above Euro level!! The mist of hate decended down upon alot of peoples eyes towards Khan and even though i thought he was poor last night (McCloskeys awkwardness didn't help) he's easily in the World class level and the lad is only 24! He has a lot to improve though.
I did think his interview was poor last night and he'll have to stay in the U.S.A for a while now as the whole build up and including the fight was a complete disaster for him.

I'm sure McCloskey will realise he was getting outboxed last night and he could pull another big fight because of the way the fight finished.

If the folks that came on here just for this thread could try and watch the Juanma or Ortiz fight from last night then they can see the beautiful side of the sport.

You nailed it. And I said it, Paul's style makes for horrible fights. That is one reason that I was never sold on him. His style is very off putting. I don't think any opponent would "look" impressiveor good against him.

I could rarely watch him fight. All that shaping and posing and awkward throwing of punches. Last night it was exposed. He has skill, movement and can box (his way), but it's just not close to world class.

Khan's style is exciting, and he is an exciting and aggressive fighter, with flaws, but also with a lot of skill.

BTW, Ortiz has a really lovely neat style. Always thought that.

Boooourns · 17-04-2011 04:25PM

walshb wrote: »

You nailed it. And I said it, Paul's style makes for horrible fights. That is one reason that I was never sold on him. His style is very off putting. I don't think any opponent would "look" impressive
or good against him.

I could rarely watch him fight. All that shaping and posing and awkward throwing of punches. Last night it was exposed. He has skill, movement and can box (his way), but it's just not close to world class.

Khan's style is exciting, and he is an exciting and aggressive fighter, with flaws, but also with a lot of skill.

BTW, Ortiz has a really lovely neat style. Always thought that.

I mentioned before on a thread, think it was before the Peterson fight that i think he's a major talent but it was his mentality that let him down.
I couldn't believe the size of him before the fight, i was sure he was in trouble but it suited him perfectly. He's a great addition to Welterweight.

celtictiger32 · 17-04-2011 04:28PM

i cant believe how many on here are still saying khan can unify the titles etc. khan won every round last night theres no denying that but he never hurt mc closkey, and i do think the longer the fight was going on the more flustered khan was getting and the more into it mc closkey was i reckon mc closkey could of knocked him out in the latter rounds as he was the one looking for the big bang.

walshb · 17-04-2011 04:32PM

celtictiger32 wrote: »

i cant believe how many on here are still saying khan can unify the titles etc. khan won every round last night theres no denying that but he never hurt mc closkey, and i do think the longer the fight was going on the more flustered khan was getting and the more into it mc closkey was i reckon mc closkey could of knocked him out in the latter rounds as he was the one looking for the big bang.

Yeah, and if it went 12 you would probably be saying, "if it was 15 rds Paul woulda knocked him out." It's a case of if your aunt had balls she'd be your uncle.

As for unifying. Bradley is the threat, and really, he suits Khan. Small, and not all that heavy handed.

Boooourns · 17-04-2011 04:34PM

celtictiger32 wrote: »

i cant believe how many on here are still saying khan can unify the titles etc. khan won every round last night theres no denying that but he never hurt mc closkey, and i do think the longer the fight was going on the more flustered khan was getting and the more into it mc closkey was i reckon mc closkey could of knocked him out in the latter rounds as he was the one looking for the big bang.

People are saying he's going to try and unify them and personally i think he beats Bradley. Khan will lose a couple throughout his career but he'll be fighting World class opponents, i can't see McCloskey beating any, i'd love to be proved wrong but he relies on one big shot too often.

makl · 17-04-2011 04:48PM

Boooourns wrote: »

People are saying he's going to try and unify them and personally i think he beats Bradley. Khan will lose a couple throughout his career but he'll be fighting World class opponents, i can't see McCloskey beating any, i'd love to be proved wrong but he relies on one big shot too often.

Yea it would be great to see him get a chance another top 10, hopefully soon. I enjoy watching his fights, unlike many. Was thinking he's not too dissimilar to Bute. Could learn a bit from him. Think Khan will have to move up a weight if he really wants be regarded world class. He's a world class light-welter for sure, but give it a couple of years and a shot at a couple of big name welters to nail it.

walshb · 17-04-2011 05:37PM

Once the early barrage had failed to break the defence and spirit of the challenger, Khan seemed short of ideas with McCloskey also showing he possessed an iron chin.

Anyone who didn't see the fight would think that Khan was hopping off
Paul with heavy shots. So inaccurate. Khan himself best described it, peppering him he said.

King of Kings · 17-04-2011 05:44PM

i was in the MEN last night and while I was cheering on paul I fully accept that Khan was ahead.
BUt that said , Khan was throwing plenty of punches and not landing that many. I didn't see paul being that hurt - even that barrage just prior to the stoppage hardly rattled him. His legs were still strong.

To say that it's ok the fight was stopped when it was stopped was akin to saying to a team at halftime - you're losing so we'll just call a halt to it.

I think paul should have been busier but he deserved more at a world title shot than what happened last night. He is entitled to 12 rounds to prove himself unless he is KO'd and that decision was just wrong.
And that's the shame......

Nobody can say McCloskey couldn't have won. I remember Carl Froch winning with 10 secs to go when he was well beaten by jermain taylor.

**** it. I deserved more for my €100 ticket -

Amir Khan v Paul McCloskey - Manchester, April 16

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