Where now for Khan and Chisora?

After Danny Garcia's 'Swift' dethroning of Amir 'King' Khan, where does the Bolton born boxer go from here? Certainly not in the direction of a super-fight with Floyd Mayweather which was the intention before the fight at The Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas.  

A stunned Khan takes a count from referee Kenny Bayless

Once again Khan failed to stick to the game plan, and as soon as Garcia started to catch him with heavy shots his brain went and he wanted to get in to a war; most boxing fans knew that this was never going to be the way to win the fight. If I am honest, as soon as Garcia caught Khan with the long left hook (half in the neck!) in the third round the fight was over. I thought Kenny Bayless was generous to say the least with his first count and if that punch had come ten seconds earlier the fight would have been over there and then.
So where now? I heard British super-middleweight Paul Smith say the other day something along the lines of 'boxing is funny, because it's hard to get the fights you want when you're winning, but everyone wants to fight you when you're losing' so getting fights shouldn't be a problem but they will certainly not be at the same level. Khan did well to get back to the big time after losing to Breidis Prescott, so to do so again is a mountain and a half to climb. I probably see Khan taking time out to reflect and seeing how the division develops over the next six months or so. It remains to be seen what is to happen to Lamont Peterson, so there isn't a re-match there at the moment so the only fight out there at light-welterweight is a re-match with Garcia. Would Khan want it? I doubt it. That means either coming back to European/Domestic level which is unlikely, or stepping up to welterweight anyway and trying to fight his way up from the lower levels of the division. I can see Khan fighting someone in the top 20 welterweights to get a foot in the door and trying to rebuild a career from there. The only thing is, that he will then have men that are 7lbs heavier raining punches down on his glass chin. It is a tricky one. Khan is a wealthy man, so could he retire at the tender age of 25?


And so to Haye versus Chisora. Haye finished the fight with a KO in the fifth round, and to be honest he looked a class above Chisora throughout the fight. Chisora was a game opponent until the fifth round, but I think it was obvious that Haye's class would tell in the end. If you ask me Chisora got what his actions in the recent past deserved. Maybe now he will take his disgusting behaviour and disappear into a dark hole somewhere. To both boxers credit, they were quite gracious to each other after the fight, despite the ridiculous trash talk in the build up. If you ask me, the fact that Chisora has even had a world title fight is a huge indictment about the state of the division at the moment. The sooner there is a greater degree of competition the better. I can't wait for David Price to make the step up to that level.  If he carries on making progress as he has done over the last few years it should be exciting. His trouble will be getting people to fight him as he has got a reputation as a bit of a banger. Price may even fight Chisora on his way to greater things. One thing I can say for sure is that Frank Maloney will not rush things with Price. It looks from an outsiders view that he knows Price can achieve big things if he has the right fights at the right time.

SPORT SHORTS

Well done to Britain's Adam Gemili, who this week triumphed at the World Junior Athletics Championships, and also became the fastest ever man in the history of the championships by running 10.05s. After being at Chelsea as a young footballer, he only started to concentrate on athletics at the beginning of the year! Exciting times ahead. 

This time next week Britain could have it's first ever winner of the Tour de France. Bradley Wiggins has a lead of around two minutes with six stages still to go. It would be a huge acheivement for the three time Olympic Gold medalist to add to his CV. Good Luck!

Mark Webber pipped Fernando Alonso to win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last Sunday. The conditions were changeable to say the least, but Webber was on the right tyres at the right time and overtook Alonso with four laps to go and stayed ahead to take the chequered flag. Red Bull Racing will be double pleased as Webber signed a one year extension to his contract this week. Webber did admit to being tempted by the lure of the prancing horse, but head prevailed over heart in the end.

Follow me on Twitter!

Boxing bad news; Again!

I am sure most will be aware that boxing has been making headlines this week for the wrong reasons; again! To be honest, it is not too often that boxing makes headlines for good reasons, which is a shame because boxing does a lot of good things. The amount of boxers you hear of that say ‘I would have been in prison or dead if it wasn’t for boxing’ but nobody ever mentions the good side of the game. 

Lamont Peterson v Amir Khan

 So to the first of the controversies; Amir Khan v Lamont Peterson is off after Peterson tested positive for synthetic testosterone which is a banned substance. Peterson’s camp has maintained that the substance was taken due to a medical condition, but there is really no defence. The test that found the testosterone was by the Voluntary anti-doping Association (VADA), i.e. not a mandatory test! Bearing this in mind, if there was nothing to hide surely they would have declared this with Nevada State Athletic Commission and sought some kind of exemption due to the medical condition. I certainly feel sorry for Khan as he was definitely seeking redemption. He knew that something wasn’t right in the first fight, but could never say anything really. I heard Johnny Nelson (former WBO world cruiser-weight champ) say this week ‘you can’t say anything at the time because you either look like a cry baby or you get sued when the tests come back negative.’ From one side Khan now has some justification for the fight in December, but on the other hand is now unlikely to prove in the ring that he is the better fighter. Perhaps the worst part for Khan and Golden Boy Promotions is that they were not informed on April 12^th when the results were discovered, and they could have perhaps rescued the show by finding another opponent, but it was left to nearly a month later until a week before the fight when nothing could be done. They should not expect a Christmas card from Oscar de la Hoya or Richard Schaefer any time soon!

David Haye and Dereck Chisora

 

And now to the second controversy; Dereck Chisora v David Haye. The main issues seem to come from the British boxing board of control (BBBoC), and the fact that they feel they have been undermined by what has gone on. If they did not want the boxers to seek a license from another board, they should have not just suspended Chisora’s license, (and told him he could get a license from another board!) they should have banned him. Full stop. Then this could never have happened. As they didn’t, Frank Warren was entitled to seek a license from another board, and the fact that it was the Luxembourg Boxing Federation is irrelevant; Warren said this week that they had a number of offers from various boards.

I’ll be honest, I think Chisora should have been banned. To do what he did to the Klitschko brothers in the build-up to his fight with Vitali in February was disgraceful. To disrespect two of the longest standing world champions in such a way was childish to say the least. If I had been in Frank Warren’s position I would have sacked Chisora there and then, but perhaps he could see this fight coming a long way off. Forty thousand paying fans at Upton Park was too much to turn down. Having been to several Frank Warren shows over the years, I would not be surprised if the fight is a damp squib. Certainly the shows I have been to have been more hype than talent in the main. There has been the odd exception of course.  We'll find out on July 15th, one way or the other. 

SPORT SHORTS

•  The Premier league concludes today and all is to play for at the top and bottom. The key fixtures are Sunderland v Man Utd and Man City v QPR. Man Utd must win to have a chance of taking the title, but if Man City beat QPR that result is irrelevant. A point should be enough for QPR, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Owen Coyle will be the biggest Man City fan today. A City win means Bolton can escape the drop at the expense of QPR if they beat Stoke, and lets face it, Stoke look like they've been on holiday for about six weeks already. I'm not sure it's as cut and dry as some Man City fans think. We'll see later on. 
• Golf's unofficial 5th major, The Players Championship at Sawgrass, concludes today with the much maligned Kevin Na in the lead; although he is only one clear so all to play for. Brian Davis and Martin Laird lead the British charge although they are both six back. As we have seen, errant shots can easily bring bogeys so they are in with a chance. 
• Roy Hodgson is to name his first England squad this week for Euro 2012, and the main issue (Ferdinand or Terry, or both?) looks like it might resolve itself as Sir Alex Ferguson has questioned whether Ferdinand is up to the task. For the record, neither would be in my starting line-up. More to follow in due course.

Follow me on Twitter!