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OK, even as a Khan fan since his pro debut, I have several major problems with the rationale behind this fight. In fact, I think it flat-out stinks (not the fight itself; it'll likely be great, but the circumstances surrounding it are not). Lemme list them out, it's easier that way...
1. Although Marquez is a bigger name, he got trounced in his last fight. Maidana, despite not having name value, is coming off a huge win over Ortiz. In the context of 140, I see it as totally illogical that Marquez is somehow automatically elevated to a position above Maidana just because of his standing. For TV it works, but for real fans the notion should be a travesty.
2. Maidana is a natural LWW, whereas Marquez is considered the best at 135 - a division in which he's struggled over the course of 2 consecutive fights to look amazing. Plus, he has spent the majority of his 17-year career at 126! Now that's what I call a genuine case of being a 'blown-up featherweight'.
3. They say fighting Marquez will give Khan more exposure in the States, but that's a really lame argument. Yes, it'll get him noticed, but it's the wrong way to go about it. Everyone's main complaint about Khan's title shot against Kotelnik was that he hadn't earned the right to challenge for it (I fully agree), and we're seeing a similar situation here.
By fighting Maidana, Khan would be going the right way about it - defending his title against a young, high-risk mandatory in his natural weight class and building up his name in the States gradually by beating all challengers. Instead, however, he'll be fighting a more well-known but much older fighter who isn't in his natural weight class.
4. Upon losing to Mayweather, Marquez was at 144 and looked crap outside of his normal weight class. As stated above, against Khan he'll have to come in at 140 - still outside of his normal weight class - and like we all know, he's looked a bit crap even at 135. Meanwhile, Maidana has been consistently comfortable at 140, and has even touched the realms of WW and LMW on a few occasions.
So let's summarise this - Khan is on the verge of dropping a world title and ducking a dangerous mandatory just to fight a blown-up FW who lost his last fight. Will I give Khan credit for beating him? Not much. At least Mayweather had the tune-up excuse, but Khan has absolutely none. He's in prime form and shouldn't be fighting older men who have no claim to a title outside of their weight class (i.e. Barrera), just for the sake of resume or name value. How could he possibly be proud of beating the recent "undisputed lightweight champion"? It's pathetic.
Would I give Marquez credit for beating Khan? Haha, for sure! He will have dusted off a bigger man, the UK's biggest name, and overcome significant odds against him. I'll actually laugh ****less if this happens, because GBP's big plans will have gone up in smoke yet again (i.e. Ortiz, Linares), and it'll serve them all right for ducking Maidana.
Anyway, fuck this ****. I'll download it the next day.
1. Although Marquez is a bigger name, he got trounced in his last fight. Maidana, despite not having name value, is coming off a huge win over Ortiz. In the context of 140, I see it as totally illogical that Marquez is somehow automatically elevated to a position above Maidana just because of his standing. For TV it works, but for real fans the notion should be a travesty.
2. Maidana is a natural LWW, whereas Marquez is considered the best at 135 - a division in which he's struggled over the course of 2 consecutive fights to look amazing. Plus, he has spent the majority of his 17-year career at 126! Now that's what I call a genuine case of being a 'blown-up featherweight'.
3. They say fighting Marquez will give Khan more exposure in the States, but that's a really lame argument. Yes, it'll get him noticed, but it's the wrong way to go about it. Everyone's main complaint about Khan's title shot against Kotelnik was that he hadn't earned the right to challenge for it (I fully agree), and we're seeing a similar situation here.
By fighting Maidana, Khan would be going the right way about it - defending his title against a young, high-risk mandatory in his natural weight class and building up his name in the States gradually by beating all challengers. Instead, however, he'll be fighting a more well-known but much older fighter who isn't in his natural weight class.
4. Upon losing to Mayweather, Marquez was at 144 and looked crap outside of his normal weight class. As stated above, against Khan he'll have to come in at 140 - still outside of his normal weight class - and like we all know, he's looked a bit crap even at 135. Meanwhile, Maidana has been consistently comfortable at 140, and has even touched the realms of WW and LMW on a few occasions.
So let's summarise this - Khan is on the verge of dropping a world title and ducking a dangerous mandatory just to fight a blown-up FW who lost his last fight. Will I give Khan credit for beating him? Not much. At least Mayweather had the tune-up excuse, but Khan has absolutely none. He's in prime form and shouldn't be fighting older men who have no claim to a title outside of their weight class (i.e. Barrera), just for the sake of resume or name value. How could he possibly be proud of beating the recent "undisputed lightweight champion"? It's pathetic.
Would I give Marquez credit for beating Khan? Haha, for sure! He will have dusted off a bigger man, the UK's biggest name, and overcome significant odds against him. I'll actually laugh ****less if this happens, because GBP's big plans will have gone up in smoke yet again (i.e. Ortiz, Linares), and it'll serve them all right for ducking Maidana.
Anyway, fuck this ****. I'll download it the next day.
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