GUEST COLUMN
Crawford is the favourite for a reason, but it could be a lot more competitive than people expect
Why Khan should not be written off
I IMAY be in the overall minority but I am one who believes that Terence Crawford versus Amir Khan on April 20 at Madison Square Garden has the potential to be a very, very competitive fight. Amir may be past his prime, but he still possesses the power, will and experience to make a great go of it. If he shows up close to his previous top form, I believe we’ll have a real fight on our hands. I feel that he will bring more out of Terence that many other opponents have been able to.
Khan at his best has a very good jab and solid snap to his punches. He puts his shots together very well and, for better or worse, he has the willingness to let his hands go. If you’re not careful and skilled then you’re going to feel some power from him. If Crawford is smart he will take this fight seriously and not presume Amir is past it.
It’s hard to say where Amir is mentally at this stage of his life and career because he hasn’t been overly active over the last few years – we haven’t seen him often enough. With that being said, he’s still a relatively young man and isn’t much older than Crawford. I’m very sure he understands that this is a huge fight for him and likely one of his last chances at this level, so he will come ultra-prepared. Much will depend on how well Amir has taken care of himself over these last couple of years. If he is properly motivated and sees the fight for what it is, as a last stand of sorts, we should see a very spirited effort from Khan.
Amir throws excellent combinations from mid to long range when he uses them, and if there was ever a fight he would need to use them overtime it would be this one with Crawford. He’s been in with bigger guys and isn’t afraid to let his hands go with real intent. That should be a plus, because any hesitation against Terence will get him picked off badly in return. I think he could and should surprise Terence early on and try to jump out to an early lead on the cards. For me, a huge plus for him will be if he can land some meaningful shots early on and get Terence’s respect and attention. A lot will depend on how well Amir does in the early going. Heading into the middle rounds, he must have Terence’s respect.
You have to give Crawford his due and place him in the current top five, pound for pound. Some have him at number one but I would say that Canelo Alvarez’s win over Gennady Golovkin has earned him the top spot in the game today. With guys like Vasyl Lomachenko, Errol Spence Jnr, Mikey Garcia and Oleksandr Usyk, we are looking at a very solid crop of pound-for-pound guys, and Crawford is right there in the mix with all of them. However, Crawford, for all his skills and ability, doesn’t yet have a defining victory or the overall résumé to equal that of Canelo. What he does have, though, are major hurdles that Amir is going to have to get over, including a great body attack, fast hands, impressive timing and calculated patience. His counter-punching with solid right hooks from the southpaw stance is going to be a major issue for Khan.
Early on, Amir’s skills and longrange power, along with a few adrenaline surges, could create some uncomfortable moments for Crawford. After four or five rounds I could even see Amir with a slight lead on the scorecards. But all things considered, including history and wear and tear, it is likely that the deeper the fight goes the more comfortable, confident and accurate Terence will become.
An overall good and competitive fight wouldn’t surprise me, but nevertheless, I’ve got to go with Crawford asserting himself very strongly over the second half of the fight for a late-rounds stoppage, if not a unanimous decision win.
‘HE CAN SURPRISE CRAWFORD EARLY AND JUMP AHEAD’