An
encounter between two of the best fighters in the sport of Boxing usually is
reason enough to draw the interest of a Boxing fan of any description. When
such a fight also takes place in a historic venue rich in Boxing history, such
an encounter is given the ingredients what could be a special night in the
sport’s history. The encounter between undefeated WBO Welterweight world
champions Terence Crawford and former unified Jr. Welterweight world champion
Amir Khan appeared to be one such occasion.
In
previewing this fight, this observer stated that this would be an interesting
clash of styles between two boxer/punchers. It appeared that when Terence
Crawford and Amir Khan entered the ring on April 20th at Madison Square Garden
that would be exactly what this fight would produce. In some ways, it is
exactly what happened. Two world-class boxers who each have the ability to play
the role of aggressor and counter puncher.
Both
fighters had periods of effectiveness throughout this fight, but it was
Crawford’s counter punching and more specifically his accuracy that proved to
be the difference. It was a counter punch, a right hand that would send Khan to
the canvas in the first round. Although this was a flash knockdown, it did
establish who had more power between the two fighters. As has been the case in
some of his more notable fights, Amir Khan’s hand speed was the focal point of
his offense and when he was able to get off first, he did have success. What
has been in some ways Khan’s Achilles’ heel throughout his career has been a
problem in managing distance between himself and his opponent, which leaves him
vulnerable to getting caught in exchanges and lunging when he is not at a
distance where he can control the tempo of the combat.
Despite
having a reputation as having a suspect chin, Khan to his credit was able to
get up from the knockdown in the first round and had periods of effectiveness.
The flaws that have led to his downfall in previous fights however, were all
visible in this fight. An inability to control distance resulted in his being
countered by Crawford, most notably with the champion’s right hand throughout
the fight. Khan was also caught in exchanges where the champion was able to get
the better of the action.
What
appeared to be a fight that was competitive, but also one that was turning
momentum in Crawford’s favor as it progressed, was suddenly stopped in round
six when Khan suffered a clear low blow and rather than taking five minutes as
per the rules to see if he could continue, the fight was stopped by his trainer
Virgil Hunter. While it is indisputable that Khan was recipient of a clear low
blow, the outcome of a technical knockout in favor of Terence Crawford has some
questioning whether or not the outcome was a knockout as a result of a fighter
more or less looking for a way out when an opportunity presented itself, a
controversy in the result being a technical knockout rather than a
disqualification in favor of Khan, or a blunder by Khan’s trainer to stop the
fight.
Was
Amir Khan looking for a way out of a fight that appeared to be getting away
from him in terms of his ability to compete effectively? It is important to
remember that despite Khan having suffered three previous knockout losses of
four previous losses in his career prior to challenging Crawford, Khan has
never shown a tendency to back out in a fight when circumstances were not in his
favor. From my perspective, although it was indisputable that Khan was hit low
by Crawford, the decision to stop the fight appeared to be a little quick.
Should
the result of the fight have been a disqualification against Terence Crawford?
Things like low blows and other fouls are something that comes with the
territory in not just Boxing, but all of combat sports. Fans of Mixed Martial
Arts (MMA) are not just familiar with the potential of a fighter being hit with
a low blow, but also the potential of a fight ending due to a fighter being
poked in the eye by their opponent, due largely to the fact that fights in MMA
are fought with open-handed gloves that enable a fighter to both punch and
grapple, but gloves that leave the fingers exposed where things like eye pokes
unfortunately do happened.
In
this case even though it was clear that Terence Crawford landed a low blow on
Amir Khan, I do not believe that it wasn’t intentional foul and thus it is
difficult to say whether or not he should have been disqualified under the
rules of Boxing. The central question here appears to be whether or not Amir
Khan’s trainer Virgil Hunter was too quick to stop this fight.
Was
there a blunder by Virgil Hunter? Although I would have preferred to see Khan
take more time to see if he could compose himself in being allowed five minutes
under the unified rules of Boxing, this appeared to be a call that was made by
his corner and not him. With the momentum shifting more and more in Crawford’s
favor, was the decision to stop this fight one made out of concern for Amir
Khan’s well-being and safety having been a knockout victim previously in his
career and having suffered a brutal one punch knockout loss to Saul Alvarez in
his previous loss prior to this fight? Was the decision made out of a strategy
to try and win the fight via disqualification as per the rules would suggest if
a fighter cannot continue after being given five minutes after suffering a foul?
Did Virgil Hunter jump the gun and stop the fight to quickly? Or, was this a
case of all of the above playing a factor in his decision to stop the fight?
Obviously,
I as a writer, Boxing journalist, and historian cannot answer these questions.
The only one that can answer those question is Virgil Hunter. While the fight
entering round six was still competitive prior to the low blow, it was clear
that the momentum was in Crawford’s favor and Khan would need to do something
to turn the ebb and flow in his favor. I do not believe that this was an
indication of a fighter wanting out of a fight, but I do believe that a mistake
was made by Khan’s corner.
Do
I believe that if Khan had taken the full five minutes and couldn’t continue
that Terence Crawford should have been disqualified? Not necessarily, but it would
not have been the first time Yours truly has seen a fight end under such
circumstances where a disqualification was ultimately the result. Given that it
was an accidental foul and did not appear to be intentional, would the better
option have been to go to the scorecards for a technical decision given that
the fight had gone beyond four completed rounds as per the rules for something
such as a cut that is deemed too severe for one fighter to continue that was
caused by an accidental clash of heads? Perhaps… Or, was is the case of a
trainer looking out for the best interest of his fighter in the long-term, but
not wanting to stop the fight in a way that would result in a technical knockout
loss?
Yours
truly cannot answer these questions, but based on not only what has happened in
Amir Khan’s career prior to this fight, but also what appeared to gradually be
happening in the fight, one should not discount the possibility of a trainer
looking out for his fighter, but also possibly looking to take advantage of a
technicality that would have theoretically resulted in a victory for his
fighter rather than a defeat. Only Virgil Hunter can say for certain what he
was thinking, but ultimately the circumstances of which this fight ended was
simply “Underwhelming.”
Whether
or not there will be a protest by Khan to the New York State Athletic
Commission (NYSAC) in an effort to have the result of a technical knockout loss
against him changed remains to be seen. For Terence Crawford, it appears to be
on to the future business of who he will fight next. While this observer will
be sharing thoughts on that subject in a future column, for now what was
turning out to be another in a long line of impressive performances by the
multi-division world champion as he continues to make an argument for himself
as the best Welterweight in the world can be summed up by simply saying, “A win
Is A Win.”
“And
That’s The Boxing Truth.”
The
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