The Boxing Diary

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Saturday, May 30, 2015

Amir Khan edges offense-minded Chris Algieri

[caption id="attachment_5703" align="alignnone" width="630"]Amir Khan edges offense-minded Chris Algieri[/caption]

Amir Khan, as expected, as predicted, wins against Chris Algieri. But in a totally different way. It's not one way traffic. It's not dominating, though it's a convincing win. Khan earned the win the hard way for their welterweight clash at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Spike TV.

From the get-go Khan, started with the right foot and everything went well and won the first three rounds. He’s throwing fast combinations and then disengaged.

In the fourth round, Algieri, somehow sensing he lost the first three rounds, pumped up his offense accelerator and started pressuring Khan. He landed some solid right hand counters that Khan felt but obviously not hurt.

After the fight, Khan (31-3, 19 KO) admits and says he “had to change it up and go to plan B”. He’s surprised for sure. Algieri was not the Algieri that defeated Ruslan Provodnikov or the Algieri Manny Pacquiao defeated in Macau.

But Khan’s adjustment to an offense-minded Algieri worked out. He landed more precise shots, creating angles and fired fast combinations. The judges’ got it right to the tune of: 15-113, 117-111, and 117-111.

Khan reiterates again his desire to fight Mayweather. “I'm the No. 1 WBC contender, Mayweather's the champion, let's make it happen’ says Khan.

With Khan’s performance tonight, I think Khan proves he has the ability to adjust his style in real time. He adapted to Algieri’s forward style, which I believed he’s not trained mainly for.

Adjustment in real time is another essential skill Khan should add to his armament, if he ever dances with Money in the same ring in September.

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