So Khan won because of a head clash...

How do you rate Calzaghe's chin?

I love the fact you didn't pick up on the first paragraph I wrote.

 

Calzaghe was knocked down in his last two fights

Kahn was knocked down by a body punch from Gomez, and walked onto a punch from Limmond (due to what now appears to be his old style of boxing). However in both fights he went on to win. Yes they were average fighters, but he was still learning the professional game. The Prescott punches were wild swings that caught him full on, and even then he still beat the count! Ricky Hatton went on to say he would have struggled to get up from those punches.

Barrera never looked in serious trouble, but he looked stunned on a couple of occassions, and taking shots constantly, whether they hurt a lot or not, tire a boxer out. Freddie Roach says Kahn is the only boxer in his gym who can keep up with Manny, so how do you know Kahn would have tired and become static? Kahn who is the younger, fitter fighter, fighting at his natural weight? Against Barrera who was fighting at the heaviest weight in his 72 fight career? A Barrera who may have the heart of a lion, but has failed to show any sign of the boxing skills of old in the last three to four years?

The cut was unfortunate, and it did ruin the fight, but Kahn looked well on the way to being the fighter some of us hoped he would become, and if Freddie Roach says Kahn is the next World Champion out of his gym, then who are we to argue?

 

I'm actually not Kahn's biggest fan

However I like the way he conducted himself in the wake of the Prescott defeat, and since he joined Roach's gym in LA. I was one of those praying for him to lose when he was calling out the likes of Nate Campbell and Manny after just 14 or 15 fights. But the Prescott fight brought him crashing down to earth, and I've been impressed since.

I take back the comment about wild swings from Prescott, I was just trying to emphasise the velocity in which they were thrown. Kahn was gone, there's no doubt about that, but he showed great heart in attempting to get up after taking such a punch full on the chin.

I never said Kahn is cured, that's yet to be seen, but what I did see was something that gives me enough belief to think he's twice the fighter he was before tonight. Time will tell, but I didn't see him look stunned, yes he got caught, but I think there's so much hype surrounding his weak chin that everytime he gets hit people are looking for his reaction. He got hit tonight, but no reaction, much like Barrera did too.

My comparison to Calzaghe isn't a silly one. The shots that knocked Calzaghe down weren't big hits, nor did they hurt him, they just got him right walking on, much like Limmonds did with Kahn.

I hold Barrera in a very high regard, but unlike Hopkins and Mosley, Barrera hasn't been active, hasn't fought at lightweight before, and doesn't even have the same trainer who he had through the glory days. Don King convinced him to come out of retirement for a couple of paydays with the hope of landing one of the weaker World Titles, therefore securing his place in history. I think kahn showed tonight he has matured, listened to his trainer, and is capable of following a game plan. Not much, but it's a good platform to build on. He'll never be one of the Worlds best fighters, but he'll be a World champion, and he'll go on to beat Prescott.