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I had a strong sensation that Khan was going to lose the Prescott fight from the way he looked in the pre-fight dressing room scenes. He seemed like a complete bag of nerves from the dressing room to the ring. Standing in the ring facing Prescott, again Khan looked horrendously on edge - tense, frustrated and almost a broken man before the first bell.
While many are quick to offer a glass chin as the primary reason for Khan's loss I think there were additional factors involved here, some of which are just as relevant as a lack of punch resistance because if he'd perhaps got the other factors right, he may not have got caught, at least not that early on.
First was his mental preparation for the fight. He has always appeared somewhat nervous before a fight, as openly admitted in past interviews, but against Prescott his nerves were so visibly apparent and blatantly obvious that I'm sure Prescott himself was well aware and capitalized on it. Khan's upper body movement was non-existent. His footwork and engagement tactics were terrible. The skills he's learned as a boxer were nowhere to be seen. The complete abandonment of the basic fundamentals seems to be a clear indication that his mind was not where it needed to be.
An additional factor worth considering is that Khan had been fasting in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Could Khan's rapid defeat be partially attributed to his dietary regime in the week leading up to the fight? How much can fasting weaken the constitution of a boxer? Messing about with normal dietary requirements must surely have some sort of a negative impact on an athlete. Fasting isn't the same as starving, food can still be consumed but only from evening to late night, not during the morning or the daytime. Most top athletes usually abide by an unwavering dietary regime, which includes not only the type of nutrition consumed but also at what times throughout the day the meals are taken.
So what was it: Prescott, glass chin, nerves or Ramadan?
Maybe all of the above...
While many are quick to offer a glass chin as the primary reason for Khan's loss I think there were additional factors involved here, some of which are just as relevant as a lack of punch resistance because if he'd perhaps got the other factors right, he may not have got caught, at least not that early on.
First was his mental preparation for the fight. He has always appeared somewhat nervous before a fight, as openly admitted in past interviews, but against Prescott his nerves were so visibly apparent and blatantly obvious that I'm sure Prescott himself was well aware and capitalized on it. Khan's upper body movement was non-existent. His footwork and engagement tactics were terrible. The skills he's learned as a boxer were nowhere to be seen. The complete abandonment of the basic fundamentals seems to be a clear indication that his mind was not where it needed to be.
An additional factor worth considering is that Khan had been fasting in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Could Khan's rapid defeat be partially attributed to his dietary regime in the week leading up to the fight? How much can fasting weaken the constitution of a boxer? Messing about with normal dietary requirements must surely have some sort of a negative impact on an athlete. Fasting isn't the same as starving, food can still be consumed but only from evening to late night, not during the morning or the daytime. Most top athletes usually abide by an unwavering dietary regime, which includes not only the type of nutrition consumed but also at what times throughout the day the meals are taken.
So what was it: Prescott, glass chin, nerves or Ramadan?
Maybe all of the above...
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