Khan Gets The Win Over Barrera – But Has He Come of Age?

Khan Gets The Win Over Barrera – But Has He Come of Age?
By Geoff "The Professor" Poundes-March 16, 2009

Sometimes a fight throws up more questions than it answers, and when Amir Khan, 20-1, 15 KO’s, took a technical fifth round decision over Marco Antonio Barrera, 65-7, 43 KO’s, in Manchester Saturday night we were left none the wiser as to Khan's world title credentials.

The contest was effectively over in the first round, when a vicious clash of heads opened a four inch gash high on the Mexican's head. Thereafter Barrera boxed through a curtain of blood, and the only surprise was that he was allowed to continue for as long as four more rounds, when it was clear that he was to all intents and purposes blind.

Khan's proponents waxed lyrical after the event about the Englishman's speed and defense, but that was more about finance than any accurate reflection of the 12 or so minutes of action. Sky television pundits, doubtless prompted by their paymasters who have a significant pay-per-view investment in Khan, talked of a world-class performance and of future championship bouts - but the truth is that this contest taught us nothing that we didn't already know about Khan.

There's no doubt that Amir's people should be congratulated for taking the fight at all, even if their hands were somewhat tied by a television deal that demanded high-class opposition after Khan's pay-per-view potential was effectively crippled by a first round demolition at the fists of Breidis Prescott. There must have been a huge sigh of relief that Khan has come through unscathed, and Frank Warren can be excused for trumpeting his fighter after the event, even if the outcome was in reality a tad unsatisfactory.

To the uninitiated, Amir looked the part. From the first bell he threw fast and hard punches from behind a high guard, and was sure to get his gloves back into place after each flurry. Barrera boxed to script, struggling to reach the taller, bigger man but comfortable in the knowledge that all he needed was one big punch to shatter Khan's brittle chin. The shape of the fight was pretty much as expected, until a minute before the round ended, when the heads came together, and Barrera emerged with blood streaming down his forehead.

His corner worked feverishly in the interval to stem the flow, but in vain. The second round saw Khan maintaining his distance, Barrera blinking and peeping through his blood blanket and taking fast combinations. The ring doctor took a look at the injury, and long discussions took place between fighter, physician and referee, and the fight, surprisingly, was allowed to continue - even though the contest was no longer a viable one.

Two rounds later, with the pattern established, the three conferred again and called it off. Protocol dictated that because the bout was ended by an injury caused by a head-butt, the scorecards were consulted and the judges correctly had Khan winning every round.

It’s not Khan’s fault that the bout ended the way it did, and he boxed immaculately while it lasted, although a desperate right hand from Barrera in the fifth when the Mexican knew the end was in sight seemed to inconvenience him slightly. He would do well to put the victory in perspective and recognize that for four rounds he looked the part against a man who was boxing through a veil – and with that recognition go back to the gym and keep working.

So whilst Amir Khan can add the illustrious name of Maco Antonio Barrera to his win column - the jury is still out. Barrera was naturally disappointed that events transpired against him:

"I didnt feel his punches. i couldnt see from the first round on - if I had two eyes I would have won the fight."

Amir, of course, saw things differently - desperate for a win over such a big name to propel him into a world title fight:

"I hope I've shut the critics up. I moved to Freddie Roach's gym, the Wild Card gym, and I'm a completely different fighter."

On the undercard two other house fighters had shocking nights. Enzo Macarinelli, 29-3, 22 KO’s, the former WBO Cruiserweight champion, was looking to continue his rehabilitation after being beaten to the punch by David Haye a year ago, but got a whole lot more than he bargained for. He acknowledged after the fight that he’d under-estimated Ola Afolabi,14-1, 6 KO’s, an Americanised Brit, and that his complacency was the cause of his 9th round stoppage defeat. In truth, Afolabi looked a high quality fighter who kidded and showboated through the first two rounds, taking Macarinelli’s trademark body-shots and hooks with little discomfort, and then exploding a right off of the Welshman’s temple in the third to have him dancing along the ropes like a baby giraffe. Things settled for the next five rounds, with Afolabi soaking up Macarinelli’s punches, and waiting for the opportunity to land one more big one, which he found in the ninth as Enzo began to tire. A huge right hook dropped Macarinelli, who got up only to be mercifully pulled out by the referee. It’s difficult to know where Macarinelli gan go from here, but with Afolabi now threatening to base his career in his native England, we may have found a new star on this side of the Atlantic.

In the third big fight of the night Nicky Cook, 29-2, 16 KO’s, surrendered his WBO Super-Featherweight title to the hard-punching Puerto-Rican Roman Martinez, 22-0, 13 KO’s. Cook started the fight well, and looked much stronger than the pasty and thin-limbed Martinez, and he seemed to be well on his way to a win when he badly shook the visitor in the 2nd round with a peach of a left hook. It was to be his only success however, as Martinez began to find his range, and walked Cook onto a heavy right uppercut in the fourth, which dropped the Englishman along the ropes. He rose, but was clearly out on his feet, and after another flurry of punches he went down again and the referee rightly stopped the contest despite Cook’s protests.