Same Old Problems on Show for Khan
The scorecards will suggest this was an easy fight for Khan. Khan winning by wide points margins on all three of the judges scorecards, but the win was anything but easy for Khan who went through more than his fair share of heart in mouth moments.
You always know what you’re going to get with Khan – an exciting fight showcasing his blistering hand speed, combined with his natural vulnerability as he far too often engages in a brawl, leaving himself open to big shots from his opponent. This fight was no different…
The fight started the way many expected, Khan coming out and testing Vargas with the left hook, right cross combination, although in this opening round, more so than other opening stanza’s of Khan bouts, he was looking a little more cautious. He soon got over any nerves in round two, putting together blinding combinations that sent Vargas crashing to the canvas. But instead of being able to put Vargas away, his opponent weathered the storm and then towards the end of the round caught Khan napping with a huge overhand right which was too much for Khans chin. Yet again Khan was dropped by a single punch, thankfully for Khans sake, the bell sounded for the end of the round and Khan was able to regain his senses enough to come out in round three and return the favour, dropping Vargas for the second time in the fight – even though the punch did not look like it was a legal shot so perhaps shouldn’t have been ruled a knock down.
Khan went back to work in the ensuing rounds, producing some lightning fast flurries which was cutting Vargas’ face to ribbons. Vargas though was still living in hope of forcing another knock down. Having floored Khan in round two it seemed he held on to the belief that all he needed was one punch to knock Khan out, much like he had been saying all along in the build up to the fight. Vargas was taking a lot of punishment but he didn’t really look hurt, his legs still looked strong and he continued to come forward, pressuring Khan and forcing him to fight on the back foot.
As Vargas looked more and more comfortable, stalking Khan around the ring, he finally got his breakthrough, rocking Khan in round ten, yet again catching Khan with his hand down leaving him exposed to a shot, just as in round two. But unfortunately for Vargas, just as it was in round two, the punch came just before the bell and once again Khan was saved giving him a valuable 60 seconds to clear his head.
With both fighters tiring in the final rounds it didn’t really look like a knockout would be on the cards, Khan continued to punch in quick flurries, Vargas continued to walk through everything Khan threw at him, looking for that opening, looking for that one hit to turn the fight – it never came as Khan bounced around the ring until the final bell was heard, winning a unanimous points verdict.
The fight will not have inspired Khan fans, although Khan fooled himself in his post fight interview, claiming he could have taken Vargas out earlier but was happy to bank 12 rounds for the first time in three years, he did not look like the Khan of old – a Khan who would have shut Vargas down and despatched of him much sooner. Vargas is a solid and honest fighter, but as displayed by his performances against Danny Garcia and Errol Spence Jr, he is not world class and should not have pushed Khan to the edge as much as he did. If Khan expects to fight Manny Pacquiao or Kell Brook next, then judging on this performance, it is a fight he is going to struggle to win and it could be yet another scary knockout loss for him. Khan’s only hope against Brook is to fight him at 147lbs and then hope Brook gets weight drained from coming down to the welterweight limit. Perhaps he is right, the 12 rounds will knock off any ring rust and he will perform much better in the next fight but I don’t believe that – he showed the same defensive problems in this fight and those defensive issues will be his downfall against a world class opponent. Amir Khan wants to fight at a world class level again against the world champions, on this performance he would be well advised to steer clear of the big names in the welterweight division, he should probably even stay clear of Brook and Pacquiao too but the pressure for a big fight is such that he going to have to jump into the frying pan now against a hot opponent. Good luck to him, maybe I’m being too hard on him but Khan should be judged by the standard he wants to be at which is elite fighter level like he one was but if he doesn’t tighten up his game, he will provide us with yet another enthralling fight but it won’t be one which will see him standing arms raised at the end of it….
