Bradley vs Khan is on

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/bradley-khan-update-77733#more-77733

Assuming Khan beats McCloskey.

I like Khan in this fight.

 

2011 might just well redeem the shitness of 2010 at this rate. Good fight. I lean slightly towards Bradley, but not by much. Anyone with the footspeed to get inside on Khan is gonna give him problems.

 

Khan fairly comfortably for me

 

I'm leaning towards Khan, possibly foolishly. Excellent match-up.

 

Bradley has another good style for beating Khan, IMO. He's essentially an ambush slugger but an adept and thinking one; he's in there to make single punches count, not outbox you or work his way in methodically; neither of which will ever work as a strategy against Khan's range.

2 things in Bradley's skill set make me fancy his chances here (both related to his head movement) - first; his ability to neautralise a jab. His punch stats often see his opponents landing under 10% of jabs (meanwhile his ability to counter Alexander's had him throwing well under half as many jabs as usual). Which is a tribute to Bradley's ability to get inside the jab consistently and almost at will. Secondly, when a guy comes TO HIM, his head movement allows him to stand his ground AND slug back; he doesn't cover up or retreat out of range as all recent Khan opponents have been limited to when Khan has launched his combo attacks. He stands his grounds and he fires back with intent. He isn't one of these modern guys who work in a binary 'attack'/'defence' dichotomy (like Khan for instance).

Im not saying Bradley will definitely win - taking away Lamont Peterson or Devon Alexander's jab isn't the same and taking Amir Khan's away; and slipping and countering their punches isn't the same as avoiding a guy as fast as Khan's....his style might leave him AWFULLY exposed against Khan, if the speed disparity proves to much.

But I think going in it seems to improve his chances. It's a higher risk/reward style. I'll be impressed if Khan wins this.

 

Excellent, props to both fighters for making the fight with the minimum of fuss...if it is indeed made

 

We might all be sleeping on McCloskey here. Khan's a correct favourite but McCloskey's a good fighter.

 

BTW, I think this'll be another very exciting fight. Any fight where a guy can get inside on Khan is a fight where you're gonna see a physically gifted fighter frantically fighting for his life.

 

Mayweather-Pacquiao was 99% done... until it fell apart.

Klitschko-Haye was a done deal... twice. And fell apart... twice. Now, it's 99% done... only they don't know the date, the network, the venue or even the fuckin' country in which it will take place.

Now, Bradley-Khan is a done deal... even though Khan still has to fight next month and there's merely an agreement in place, but not actual signed contracts.

Not saying the latter two fights won't happen this year, but my God... why do we as an industry continue to turn to blind faith when rarely having anything to show for it?

 

Fighters with bad chins should never take two fights at a time.

 

I haven't seen McCloskey but if he's a stay busy fight chances are he can't punch. Bradley has KO'd less than half of his opponents...no risk in that department.

Khoward should win this similarly to how he beat Malignaggi. Jab and stay on the outside. Bradley has some quickness but he's so wide with his shots and more importantly short...Khan can keep a jab in his face to keep little Timmy off balance and lounging in. Lil' Timmy doesn't get close enough to headbutt Khoward.

 

If it happens i take Bradley.

 

Racist!!!

You always pick the Black guy!

:kidcool:

 

As a shorter, athletic and skillful boxer like Bradley, I think Khan's jab can be neutralized or even negated by simply parrying!

Stopping your opponents jab about 3/4 of the way before impact, and then, stepping into your own counter-jab could and should yield this result repeatedly.

Sometimes people over-analyze and forget the pure basics still work.
It's akin to Max Schmeling catching Joe Louis all night with the counter right over the dropping/lazy jab in their first fight. That's simple boxing 101; nothing difficult, just do it! And as Hut mentioned, "when a guy comes TO HIM, his head movement allows him to stand his ground"

 

I'm not a fan of either one, so I dont care who wins. Whichever one loses, I'll be happy. But I'm actually going with Khan.

Outside of his masterful headbutting... Tim Bradley just doesnt have that many skills. Neither does Conman... but Con is alot faster, and his range and jab will give Bradley alot of problems.

And lets face it... Bradley doesnt hit half as hard as Maidana.

 

:nono: I picked Vitali against Briggs.

 

My thoughts exactly.

Unfortuntely, whichever one wins, the hype train for them will become enormous. Even though to me, neither one is anything special.

 

The comparison really doesn't hold up, IMO.

Pauli couldn't even parry a jab in that fight to begin with. Round after round went by and he didn't even attempt a stop-shot. It was one of the most pathetically inept displays I've ever seen. Khan landed nearly half his thrown jabs, around 3x the rate he managed against Kotelnik and a 50% higher rate than he managed against Maidana for instance, neither of whom have anything like Bradley's ability to neutralise a jab.

Bradley reduced Witter, Peterson and Abregu to <10% connect rate on jabs and reduced the number of jabs Alexander even attempted to throw by almost 60% from his average based solely on how apprehensive he was of Bradley's ability to counter it.

So the premise that Khan's just gonna keep Bradley stuck outside, skewered on the end of a jab doesn't seem likely to me. There are few fighters in the sport as good at getting inside a jab as Bradley (and few fighters so inept once the fight gets there as Khan). I think this will be more fun than you think! :Thumbs:

 

But you weren't happy about it.

:cheer:

 

That's one of the stupidest things you've said.

Bradley's mains assets are skill and mental strength/toughness/determination.

He's fairly quick and athletic, but not a speed demon, or exceptionally agile, plus he can't really punch.

He is a thinking fighter, he always thinks about what he is doing in there, and wins most of his fights with skill, rather than pure volume or power or speed.

It was general boxing skill / good punch picking / good counterpunching etc that got him his dominant wins over Witter, Holt, Peterson, and Alexander.

It's easy enough to underrate Bradley because he is unspectacular, but to say he doesn't have much skill is absurd.

Maidana is a man without much skill (but the power and determination to make up for it). Bradley is a skilled operator. More skilled than Khan, that's for sure.


Regarding this fight, I pick Bradley. I simply think he's the generally better fighter.

 

'Word'.

 

Give me Khan all day every day. Bradley is very average.

Hopefully this fight does not end prematurely due to yet another Bradley head butt.

 

To use the basis of your point...none of these three fight remotely close to Khoward. Thus the output stat is rendered irrelevant.

Bradley isn't "good" at getting inside anymore than Holyfield was...unless you consider "good" in terms of looking at the floor leading head first.

 

None of them fight much like each other either. But it keeps happening.

And for the record I define 'good' as getting consistently good results.

 

I'm going to ignore your last paragraph in its entirety...it's nearsighted and overly simplistic. Ask a few of the Brits and Khoward fans how highly I rate Khoward.

With that said, my point remains. the basis of your point (as I understood it) was based on how poorly Paulie parried jabs which in turn made Khowards jab appear better than it appears. For the record, he used his jab well against Maidana early on too.

I don't see how it's a stretch nor irrelevant to comparatively state Bradley's "division leading best" ability to "get inside" isn't up to snuff because Witter, Agrebu and Peterson fight nothing like Khoward.

 

It's a stretch because it's stupid. You might think Bradley's consistent success against the jab won't be enough. Or that Khan's jab is so good or fast that it'll nullify Bradley's usually excellent ability to get inside the jab. Or you might think that Khan will win a shoot out even if Bradley can get inside the jab consistently.

Fine.

But that's very different from saying - in a fight where you have a guy who can't fight inside and relies HEAVILY on his jab to maintain distance - that an unusually developed ability his opponent has shown to nullify the jab and get inside off of that is 'irrelevant'.

I mean is ANY stylistic point relevant in ANY fight?

 

Khoward will be on his bike throwing flurries and punching off his back foot. Lil' Timmy's simply too short in stature and in reach to deal with that...plus he doesn't punch worth a shit.

I'd rather see him win than Khoward but I just can't see it. To chalk it up to my not liking him is silly.

Check the record...this is the most kind I've been to Khoward.

And again...I'd submit guys fear Tim's headbutts more than his punches...what's the stat...his last six or seven opponents were cut by headbutts? Not punches...headbutts.

 

I can scarcely believe anyone would pick Khan in this match outside of die-hard dedicated fanatics. What allowed Khan to BARELY, BARELY get a victory against Maidana? Khan has fast hands, a very good mix of punches, and has respectable power - and so in the early going of the fight, Khan was easily able to keep Maidana at a distance and use those flashy punches to hit a STATIONARY target with little or no defense or head movement. Put a good amount of rounds in the bank.

But when Maidana got inside, he steamrolled Khan. Khan proved somewhat chinny, although not embarrassingly so. Khan ran out of steam halfway through the fight and literally ran for his life the last 3rd of it. Khan showed borderline defense and in many cases was hit cleanly even by slow plodding punches. Was out on his feet at least once. 2-3 more rounds and Khan goes to sleep in that fight, IMO. And that's against Marcos Maidana.

Now bring in Tim Bradley? Bradley has EXCELLENT head movement and defense, can get inside on anyone, and can fight adeptly from the inside. He has great footwork. He is very accurate with his punches, and hits hard enough to damage Khan for certain. He doesn't tire. He has excellent stamina, and when Khan is gassed Bradley will still be coming on. Bradley will get close to Khan all night long and batter him with short, clean punches. Khan will have trouble using those offensive tools from the outside where he is comfortable. I am tired of people sleeping on Bradley because he's not Manny Pac or Floyd. The guy has a TON of skill, and one of the most difficult styles to beat in all of boxing. If he can't KO you, he outworks you, has a great chin and recovers fast when tagged.

How exactly will Amir Khan beat Tim Bradley? How do those picking Khan realistically see this fight going? I am honestly curious.

 

Good one. I like Khan by stoppage.

 

That's pretty much how I see it. I give Khan a slightly better chance of establishing range with his speed than you, but the bulk of my money will def be on Bradley if this comes off.