Amir Khan-Chris Algieri: Post-Fight Report Card

by Cliff Rold

It was a fight after all.

Much gnashing of teeth about a bad style match preceded Amir Khan-Chris Algieri. There was none of that by the end. It wasn’t a classic or anything, but it was a good fight and an excellent main event for a Friday night show.

Was it too good a fight for Khan to get what he’s really after?

The 2004 Silver Medalist has made no bones about what he wants. Like everyone within spitting distance of Welterweight, give or take a class or two, he wants Floyd Mayweather. Khan has appeared to delay his career at points thinking the fight was at hand.

He came out aggressive versus Algieri, an opponent many assumed selected for him to look good against. As Algieri has done against everyone but the great Manny Pacquiao, the New Yorker showed that low expectations of him are easy to overcome.     

Let’s go the report card.

Grades

Pre-Fight: Speed – Khan A+; Algieri B+/Post: A+; A-

Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Khan B+; Algieri B/Post: B+; B+

Algieri made Khan work for all twelve rounds by doing the thing he needed to do most. Algieri kept throwing. Pressing the entire fight, Algieri fought like a puncher and kept his volume up. It looked like it might work a few times. Khan, whose chin will ever be a source of concern for his team, was shaken a few times by a guy with fewer than ten knockouts.

Unfortunately, Algieri’s lack of power was a real issue for him. Some of the stuff he caught Khan with looked a lot like what others have to drop or severely hurt him. Khan was able to shake Algieri off quickly and come back punching.

With neither man able to seriously hurt the other, we got something fun: two quick handed fighters willing to let the leather fly. It made for a blistering pace through six rounds and the fight never slowed to anything resembling dull.

Khan was just a little too quick, a little more accurate, and a little more schooled in too many rounds.

What he wasn’t was overly impressive. This wasn’t the Devon Alexander fight, one of his most complete performances. This was the Khan of a lot of bad habits. He wasn’t relaxed enough and sometimes let himself get off balance trying too hard. When he settled down, he had better rounds and was able to counter Algieri silly. Algieri’s eye didn’t shut on its own.

Khan now goes back to the waiting game. Will he get the call in September? If he does, the fight will have detractors. This scribe won’t be one. For all his flaws, Khan has strengths that could make a showdown with Mayweather truly fascinating. He’s considerably faster at this point. He fights at a high energy level and punches in volume, something that could wreak havoc on the more precise Mayweather.

Alternately, Floyd would have a chance for the sort of stoppage he hasn’t scored in years (Victor Ortiz excluded). Mayweather-Khan would carry the possibilities of a Terry Norris-Ray Leonard or a Pernell Whitaker-Diobelys Hurtado. It would be high drama all the way and Khan has more of a chance to win, based on styles, than a lot of fighters who would beat Khan right now.

Does anyone think Khan beats Manny Pacquiao, Kell Brook, Danny Garcia, or Keith Thurman right now? The answer is probably very few. Yet Khan may match up better with Mayweather than any of those fighters. Floyd is 38 and fights a very precise style.

Khan would be a very interesting test of the older Floyd. We’ll see if that’s what is next for either man.

Report Card and Staff Picks 2015: 39-8 (Including pick in Fortuna-Vasquez) 

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com