Garcia-Khan: Re-watched. Opinions please.

There has been a bit of a divide on the forum with regards to the Khan-Garcia fight. Some believe Garcia landed a lucky punch and Khan was boxing his head off and some believe that Garcia was starting to get Khans timing down and the KO was coming. I would like some opinions and sensible comments, bias fan boys need not post. When I first watched the fight I believed that Khan was boxing his head off, I thought he was on his way to a UD, maybe even a stoppage on cuts. Khan won the first 2rds without a doubt. After reading the forum over the last couple of days I decided to watch the fight again, a little more carefully this time. After the second watch I'm now in the camp that believes Garcia was starting to figure Khan out. If you watch the fight minute by minute Garcia was constantly improving, in the first minute of the first round Khan couldnt miss Garcia with his right hand, towards the end of the round Garcia had started to adjust to the speed the right hand wasn't hitting as much. Manny Steward even commented at the end of the first and part way through the second that Garcia had figured out Khan's right hand. If you decide to watch the fight again pay attention to how many times Garcia was starting to catch Khan with his looping counters, he didn't catch him clean until that third round, Garcia wasn't/isn't the most accurate of fighters but he knew what he needed to do. He through those strong counters over and over, at the end of the exchanges it was a Garcia counter that was knocking Khan off balance. I don't think they were necessarily hurting Khan, quite a lot landed on the gloves, but you could tell how strong they were, Khan stumbled quite a few times and had to reset. I personally think the change came in towards the end of the second and during the third when Garcia noticeably started working the body, Khan was less active in the third round and I believe he may have looked a little hurt, I'm not sure which punch hurt him (or if it was the body work over all) but Khan's elbows were definitely noticeably more tucked in during the third, he was also circling for much longer before attacking while Garcia held the centre of the ring. Personally, after that re-watch I can see what people have been saying, the KO was coming. Garcia was pretty underrated, to me he proved hes a smart fighter, even when Khan was hurt he didn't go mad and punch himself out, he took his time, that's the sign of a good finisher. I know it's been done to death, but this decision has reared its head again recently so I thought I'd get everyone's opinion in the same thread.

Comments (20)

Khan got ktfo,what is there to discuss?

13y ago

salitap4p1

After rewatching I gave Garcia the 2nd round due to the nature of the shots he landed. The KD punch was no lucky punch either. That said, Garcia landed hard, flush shots after he'd hurt Khan, which Khan withstood. I weak chin wouldn't have withstood those, especially while already hurt.

13y ago

Suavecito80

Garcia was landing solid shots from the opening bell. Not shoeshining like Khan loves to do. He starting working the body from the second round and was landing hook after hook after hook. Once he timed Khan it was lights out. A good fight plan for Garcia and I see the rematch going in the same direction.

13y ago

Big_L

khan's "dominance" in that fight is severly overstated.

13y ago

Jloro

If you actually watch the fight he kept landing more and more. I was still confused as sht when it first happened though. I was s happy

13y ago

Sage84

it was a very lucky punch garcia swang and hit the jackpot wont happen again which is why he is ducking the rematch Any this children is what you call deluded. :dunce:

13y ago

RomeByKo

it was a very lucky punch garcia swang and hit the jackpot wont happen again which is why he is ducking the rematch Lucky..Garcia was so lucky he consistently landed the same punch on Khan over and over again...

13y ago

ma51f

it was a very lucky punch garcia swang and hit the jackpot wont happen again which is why he is ducking the rematch

13y ago

TGD

What I don't understand is why so many people think Khan merits a rematch after being flattened in 4 rounds.

13y ago

RomeByKo

I don't know how people are saying garcia was winning round 3, looked like more of the same to me. Garcia was occasionally landing in ALL rounds. Not sure if HBO was as biased as you guys say, the commentators even said themselves khan was getting hit and taking risks. When YOU MUTE THE SOUND you no longer hear punches...not a good way to judge fights - you need SOUND ON. What I did notice is low blows by Garcia. 3 in 3 rounds and a few that were NOT called. Khan should have jabbed more that would have messed up Garcia's timing Finally, Round 4 was awesome. That was a great round I wish the ref let it go on but I guess it was good for khan that he stopped it. Both fighters were just looking for the money shot and khan was landing pretty heavy shots on garcia but garcia was smart enough not to go too crazy and broke him down. You wish Bayless let the fight go on??LOL you don't like Khan very much...Jab or no Jab,Khan was predictable..Once Garcia had his timing Khan was finished....

13y ago

Mr_Philadel

Excellent post and I agree on timing. What a beautiful third round by Garcia. His defense was very strong and he spent much of the early part slipping under Khan's combinations and working the midsection. I knew Khan was f*cked midway through the round when he fired a combo and then took a slight step to his left, right in the range of whistling overhand right from Garcia that just missed. Moments later, it was over. Watching the fight again, one thing that stands out is the fine work by Angel Garcia in the corner. Quality stuff. After the first, he tells Danny, "you see, he's not that fast, man! You can see his punches!" and he was right. Danny lost focus toward the end of the second (mainly because of the cut) and Angel wasn't having none of it. That was a well-thought out and well-executed gameplan. church!!!!...Angel handled the situation like he belongs on this stage...well done!!

13y ago

G22

Khan survived two rounds against a harder puncher in Maidana Not sure Maidana is a bigger puncher than Garcia. The two common opponents they have Morales asnd Khan, Maidana got outclassed over the distance and couldnt floor either ( but got floored ) whilst Danny destroyed both in just 4 rounds. I think Madanas over rated and Danny isnt given teh credit he deserves.

13y ago

1q3er5

13y ago

Hougigo

I'll give Khan this, he took a lot of bombs during the last round that would've seriously hurt other people, but he's got to stop being ****y. He knew he was hurt but he'd stand in the pocket with Danny and try to exchange.

13y ago

KingKhan1

Garcia has to be given credit for the KO. The punch will always be classed as lucky by fanboys who cant accept there favourite fighter was outboxed on the night. Here's something to consider though, Maidana caught khan big and Khan did the sensible thing to use the ring to recover. Of course, Garcia's punch was more damaging but the same basics apply. Khan decided to fight fire with fire, and paid the price. Khan survived two rounds against a harder puncher in Maidana when he used the correct fundamentals. Plus, Khan fought a silly fight against Garcia. His Jab was inconsistant, his combinations were not set up with feints or the jab and his footwork was nowhere to be seen. I don't think Khan's predictability is a problem as normally his speed is too much and used in the right way his speed would be too much for Garcia. Against Molina, nothing greatly changed. He was more selected with his combinations and seemed more relaxed, but he had no head movement and was lunging in with his attacts. Khan should use his reach and fire combinations from range. That allows him to see his opponents return fire coming and use his feet to move away from the attacts. Khan's chin isn't convincing, but he took major power punches after the knockdown and at one point looked to have his legs back but allowed himself to be open to the left hook that finished it. Garcia has to be given credit, I dont really see anyone at 140 being able to take that left if it is timed properly. (maybe excluding rios). Not really impressed with his choice of opponent in judah. His name isnt what it was and Khan completely outclassed him so really has took two steps backwards since he beat Khan. Morales 2 and now Judah are fights he shouldnt really be considering. Matthysse is a fight that i think would be FOTY candidate, and Garcia Vs Alvarado is a great fight as well. The Matthysse fight is seriously possible as he's golden boy. Khan shouldn't consider the re-match until he has has another 3 fights to learn under Hunter. Khan vs Peterson is the most likely option for his return then maybe he should go up in weight. Garcia has really improved in the last year and if his development keeps rising at this rate he could be P4P top 5 come end of 2013.

13y ago

Hougigo

Khan was fast as hell and won the first two, but people were acting like Garcia only threw that left hook once. He started in the first and started coming on stronger with it as the rounds went by. People acting like he wasn't hitting Khan.... Garcia timed that left hook pretty damn good

13y ago

LA_2_Vegas

Great posts in this thread. Aside from the tactical explanations everyone has described, I always thought another factor in the lead up to the loss was it being a replacement fight. The canceled rematch with Peterson was a big letdown and it interrupted the final days of camp as he was peaking only 8 days before the fight. The Garcia fight was just a month later. You have to be careful against any opponent under those circumstances and Garcia was not just some bum replacement. He has always been a prospect of his own, he was just on a very slow path because he was a little raw at first. So from Danny's end, he had time for a somewhat normal but condensed camp and only had to focus on Khan. I really don't know what went on behind closed doors with Roach and Khan and what they did to prepare specifically for Garcia, but seeing him get hit in those sparring sessions wasn't cool. Maybe he had put too much on his body b4 the fight with the interrupted/extended camp in addition to the other stylistic issues and adjustments Garcia presented. So yeah, it was timing..during the actual fight and outside. Red flags were all over the place.

13y ago

MarcoHooker

Khan was fighting really dumb and not giving any respect at all to Garcia That being said I still think it was a lucky shot

13y ago

heihaci

It was a case of timing beating speed.Also, poor punch selection Khan was throwing an uppercut from the worng distance!

13y ago

Roy_Jones_Jnr

Khan did win both the first 2 rounds IMO but nowhere near as widely and easily as some people make out to be, even in those 2 rounds Garcia was landing and was millimetres away from landing some big bombs. Garcia was sooner or later gonna tag him with one of those bombs that were gonna cause some real damage, which he did. Another thing to look out for whilst your all rewatching the fight, take a look at some of the shots that Khan ate without going down. He took some clean bombs even before Garcia got him with that shot on the neck, then some more huge punches when he was on jelly legs. And there's not one single sane boxing fan i know of who called that a lucky shot, so i don't even know why people bother bringing that up.

13y ago