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On one hand you have the very quick, talented, and aggressive Amir Khan, while on the other, you have the conventional, durable, and technical Andriy Kotelnik. I am normally very confident of a Khan victory before each of his fights, but this is his first ever time I have seen Khan as the underdog. Let's make no mistake, Kotelnik is a very underrated boxer and deserves bigger recognition in the boxing community. He holds solid wins over Marcos Maidana and Gavin Rees, and pushed Junior Witter all the way, in a fight many people thought he won. Simply put, this guy isn't going to be a walk in the park for Khan.
Kotelnik does everything right from a pure boxing stand point. He has a great jab, tight defence, and is very patient, willing to wait for his opportunities to strike. While he doesn't possess any significant power in his punches, as evidence by a small 38% KO ratio, he still has more than enough power to trouble Khan's poor chin. If he settles into a rhythm, he will be very difficult to break down.
Even though this will prove to be Khan's hardest fight to date, it is still very winnable for him. He will need to fight patiently and not get caught up in exchanges. If he keeps a tight guard, and fights on the outside using his faster jab, he is going to be hard to hit. Provided that Khan can open up an early lead, Kotelnik is going to have to force the proceedings at somepoint, and start to open up. This is where Khan can use his superior boxing skills and combinations to land freely upon his stationary opponent. Movement is in my opinion, one of Kotelnik's main weaknesses, and one of Khan's positives.
This is a very close fight if I'm honest. Khan can win from fighting on the outside, and using his brain. Kotelnik can win if Khan tries to blast his out of there, and then walks onto one of his punches. All will be revealed Saturday, but I think Khan would have learned a lot from Freddie Roach, and will stop Kotelnik in the 10th round.
Kotelnik does everything right from a pure boxing stand point. He has a great jab, tight defence, and is very patient, willing to wait for his opportunities to strike. While he doesn't possess any significant power in his punches, as evidence by a small 38% KO ratio, he still has more than enough power to trouble Khan's poor chin. If he settles into a rhythm, he will be very difficult to break down.
Even though this will prove to be Khan's hardest fight to date, it is still very winnable for him. He will need to fight patiently and not get caught up in exchanges. If he keeps a tight guard, and fights on the outside using his faster jab, he is going to be hard to hit. Provided that Khan can open up an early lead, Kotelnik is going to have to force the proceedings at somepoint, and start to open up. This is where Khan can use his superior boxing skills and combinations to land freely upon his stationary opponent. Movement is in my opinion, one of Kotelnik's main weaknesses, and one of Khan's positives.
This is a very close fight if I'm honest. Khan can win from fighting on the outside, and using his brain. Kotelnik can win if Khan tries to blast his out of there, and then walks onto one of his punches. All will be revealed Saturday, but I think Khan would have learned a lot from Freddie Roach, and will stop Kotelnik in the 10th round.
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