Crawford at the Garden may be a fitting swansong for Khan... a brave, thrilling, but flawed warrior

WHATEVER flaws Amir Khan may have, his heart cannot be questioned.

I am not surprised that he is close to signing off on an April date with Terence Crawford at Madison Square Garden.

It is a big fight, and he deserves those, but I’d say there are far easier ways to go out on your shield than sharing a ring with the 31-year-old American.

In Crawford we are looking at one of the special ones. I’d say it’s between him and the Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko for the pound-for-pound accolade.

I will be willing Khan to do well but the reality is this is a brutal business with only a splitsecond between victory and strife.

It seems to me that we are preparing to say goodbye to one of the great British careers. I really hope I’m wrong but no fighter can escape the natural cycle of his boxing life.

Boy, has Khan entertained us. No one will forget his incredible Olympic silver in Athens, losing only to one of the great Cubans of all time, Mario Kindelan.

At a difficult time for British Asians he became a positive role model – seriously impressive for someone so young. From the outset his love of a fight has been undermined by poor punch resistance.

Against the very best his blinding hand speed and thrilling combinations were never enough to keep trouble at bay.

Shut your eyes and

Breidis Prescott,

Danny Garcia and

Canelo spring immediately to mind. I hate seeing him hit like that.

Crawford (right) is technically good, as well as a devastating puncher. The better option for Khan at 147lb would have been fellow Brit Kell Brook.

Crawford is in a different league. He’s smaller than Brook, for sure, but he’s also less worn, more complete. Look at Crawford’s resume. He has taken the ‘0’ from six opponents. He does not get hit.

Khan is arguably quicker than any he has fought before but he is not better than Crawford in any department. Even at his peak I don’t believe Khan would win this contest.

Each time you get knocked out it does something to your confidence. It is harder to stand in the wheelhouse and trade.

I’m certain Khan knows what he is doing. He will be well rewarded for the risks he is taking. If it is to be his last night at least he will be going out at the top against a real hall-of-famer on the sport’s greatest stage.