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Amir Khan (21-1, 15KOs), 2004 Olympic silver medalist, proved to the whole world that he can bring superfights in the Junior Welterweight boxing division after easily defeating Andreas Kotelnik (31-3-1, 13KOs). Amir Khan took out Kotelnik by a 12-round unanimous decision, acquiring Kotelnik’s WBA light welterweight title at the M.E.N. Arena, in Manchester.

During the fight, Amir Khan had shown his huge improvement under his new trainer Freddie Roach. Amir Khan definitely improved his speed over Kotelnik, which gave him control of the pace of the fight. Khan started aggressively, but Kotelnik gave a strong late outburst. Generally, Khan dominated Kotelnik in terms of power and speed, but mostly in terms of power. In addition to that, Khan was more defensive in his fighting style. His habit of exposing his chin was lessened as he would tuck his chin and move around to keep out of Kotelnik’s punching range.

Unfortunately, Kotelnik became very complacent, giving Khan the chance to find his groove. He should have given his best from the start. In boxing, you can’t allow your opponent to establish his rhythm, or else you will be in great danger.

Another thing that I had noticed was, it seemed that Andreas Kotelnik lacked power during that fight, since Kotelnik’s punches after round six did not seem to have any effect on Khan. He needed a punch that could upset Khan’s rhythm and style, but he was never able to find that punch.

Kotelnik had difficulty with Khan’s speed, making it hard for him to quickly shift from defense to offense and vice versa. But he still did a good job of not getting too overwhelmed by Khan. Andreas Kotelnik should be given credit for not giving up so easily.

The judges’ scores were 120-108, 118-111, and 118-111.

Khan-Hatton

After defeating Andreas Kotelnik, Khan’s trainer Freddie Roach says that his fighter could be looking at a possible fight with another British boxer, Ricky Hatton. However, promoter Frank Warren had advised Ricky Hatton to retire and avoid the showdown with the current WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan.

Frank Warren was Ricky Hatton’s former promoter, but they split and Warren is now Amir Khan’s current promoter.

Ricky Hatton is still in the hospital for some unknown reason and there is still no telling if Ricky Hatton would insist on challenging Amir Khan for a super fight.

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Former British boxing champion Ricky Hatton, 30 years old, remains in the hospital in Manchester with a suspected stomach virus. He was admitted early Tuesday to Tameside General Hospital when he had complained about severe stomach cramps and chest pains.

Some fans had thought that Ricky Hatton have caught the dreaded swine flu, but doctors had already ruled swine flu out. The doctors also initially believed that the former IBF junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton was suffering from a bad case of food poisoning. However, tests are still being conducted to further validate their diagnosis.

“He suffered sever stomach cramps and was in absolute agony. It was thought at first he had swine flu but it seems he had caught some kind of gastric bug,” Ray Hatton explained.

His agent Paul Speak said: “He is still waiting for the results, but he could be allowed home on Friday.”

Ricky Hatton’s father, Ray Hatton, was told by the doctors that his son might have had the virus for a while now but was not able to realize it.

Ricky Hatton should keep watch of his lifestyle from now on, because his body is also his money machine. If Hatton loses his health, he will also lose income. He should take care of his body and be more careful of what he eats, because he is not getting any younger. And just maybe, he is applying to much pressure to his body.

Right now, there is a possibility that Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) will be returning to the ring this November to face the unbeaten WBA welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko (29-0, 20 KO’s). But to me, Senchenko is not the best choice for him to fight. Ricky Hatton could be in big trouble against him, since Senchenko has the winning momentum on his side. In addition to that, Senchenko is a really skilled boxer.

Amir Khan is also one of his potential opponents, however he has to win against Andreas Kotelnik this Saturday night to be able to get a receptive fight with Hatton.

Hopefully, Ricky Hatton will get well soon and get his desired comeback fight.

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Promoter Frank Warren and his organization feels that pranksters are trying to undermine the Amir Khan versus Andreas Kotelnik bout. Many of the posters in Manchester, England, that advertised the upcoming fight between Khan and Kotelnik were reported to be vandalized. On the said posters were large yellow ‘Cancelled’ stickers purposefully attached.

The poster contained very important information about the upcoming fight, such as the fight date and ticket details.

Just recently, there had been numerous rumors that scattered around the internet, sabotaging the anticipated bout. Rumors that reported of Kotelnik getting a hand injury and that he was going to be replaced by John Murray had spread throughout the online boxing community. But Kotelnik’s promoter said that his fighter is in good health, indicating that the rumors were not true.

The reason for such an attack against the Khan-Kotelnik bout is still unknown. It is also not known whether it is a direct attack against either Amir Khan or Andreas Kotelnik. Whoever is responsible seems to be very determined to hinder the fight from materializing.

I have to say that the people who did this are rather selfish to try to keep other people from enjoying boxing.

It is probably out of jealousy that some people could go so far to damage other people. Amir Khan had some very convincing sold out fights in his career, and most likely others are envious of him. He is probably disliked because he had reached such a status without facing not too many well-matched opponents since he had turned professional. But, Khan can use this to his advantage. This could also mean that there will be people who will be buying tickets to see him get beaten. Hence, he would still have high ticket sales. It could very well increase the ticket sales instead of undermining it.

Amir Khan and Andreas Kotelnik should not let themselves be bothered by such things anymore. Instead, they should just focus on how to get a win from each other. Both fighters should know by now that they can’t please everybody. They will always have fans and as well as enemies.

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Freddie Roach is confident that Amir Khan (20-1, 15 KOs) will win against the Ukrainian Andreas Kotelnik (31-2, 13 KO’s) in July 18, and that this win will open up an opportunity for a Khan-Hatton showdown. Roach thinks that the fight will receive great feedback in the UK, since both fighters are fairly popular there.

“… I think it would be a huge fight, here in the United Kingdom you would sell a lot of tickets and make a lot of money, so why not?” Roach explained. “I think it would be a huge great fight. I think it could happen soon to be honest with you.”

This fight may be able to bring a lot of money for both Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton. However, it still depends on the result of the Khan-Kotelnik bout. If Amir Khan loses to the Ukranian light welterweight champion, which most critics think is very likely to happen, then people might lose interest in a Khan-Hatton fight. In addition to that, Hatton seems to be interested in the WBA title, and if Khan cannot win the title, then Hatton might look for other bouts somewhere else.

Roach told Sky Sports News that Hatton might not be able to resist a possible bout with Khan once Khan has the WBA title around his waist.

Ricky Hatton, needs a huge win right now, to give him a boost and put his career back on track, after being dismantled by a second round knockout from Manny Pacquiao, past May 2.

Khan is a perfect target for Hatton, because of several reasons. First, Khan is very popular, and a fight with Khan can generate more ticket sales. Second, Khan has a weak chin, if Hatton can take advantage of Khan’s vulnerability then there is a good chance of him winning without having his own chin tested.

This could be Hatton’s chance to reacquire his glory and honor as a boxer. He is already 30 years old and could be past his prime, but he wants to prove his critics otherwise.

Both fighters will have to face their fears of being knocked out by their opponents.

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Victor Ortiz (24-2-1, 19KOs) failed miserably in proving to the boxing community that he is worthy of the superstar status when he was stopped by Marcos Rene Maidana (26-1, 25KOs) in the sixth round. That night, was supposed to be Ortiz’z coming out party, instead he had gotten the other way around.

Argentina’s Marcos Maidana stopped Victor Ortiz in the sixth round to claim the World Boxing Association interim light welterweight championship. Ortiz made the Argentine Marcos Maidana kiss the canvas three times in the first two action-filled rounds. But by the sixth round, Ortiz was unable to defend himself against the unpredictable and powerful right hand of Maidana.

By the end of round five Ortiz was bleeding from the right eye. The Argentine was throwing powerful right hand bombs and landed some of them on Ortiz, this gave Maidana some boost in his confidence. The momentum then shifted in favor of Marcos Maidana.

In round six, Maidana came out aggressively, throwing overhand rights, underhand rights and sideways rights. Maidana didn’t stop until Ortiz was laying on the canvas.

The fight was stopped because of the cut in his eye, but anyone who saw the fight would agree that Ortiz had quit. Ortiz looked very sore, battered, bloodied and bruised, and he was looking for a way out. He was not interested in continuing the fight. Ortiz may have talent and skills for the sport, but he lacked the determination and heart to win such fights.

Ortiz is a young talented fighter. Many people had kept an eye on him, hoping he becomes something really special.Tonight Ortiz had his first real test in the ring and failed not only during the fight but also after the fight.

On the other hand, this was sweet redemption for Maidana, who lost four month’s ago via a razor-thin decision to the current junior welterweight title holder Andreas Kotelnik.

“My desire allowed me to continue,” said Maidana regarding his come-back performance. “I knew I could get him but I had to be careful. He was making mistakes and I had to take advantage.”

Right now, his next fight depends upon the outcome of Kotelnik versus Khan fight. Whoever it is, Maidana has some more winning on his mind.

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Lightweight Amir Khan (20-1, 15KOs) responds to Andreas Kotelnik’s trash talk and promises to give him a “boxing lesson” in the ring, this coming July 18 at the M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, England. The supposed fight’s original date was pushed back to a later date (July 18), when Kotelnik was reported to have had a tooth problem. Albeit, some have claimed that Andreas was hammered in sparring.

Amir Khan is clearly upset about the comments that Kotelnik has been throwing at him. Kotelnik apparently referred to Khan’s inexperience and young age, calling Khan a “boy.” Khan responded by saying that he will be Kotelnik’s teacher inside the boxing ring. Khan is hoping to show Kotelnik, on the night of their fight, that he has mentally and physically matured as a boxer, and that he should not be taken too lightly. He clearly aims to rearrange Kotelnik’s face when their paths will cross in the ring.

However, Kotelnik says that he will knock Khan out in the same way that Breidis Prescott did, something that had really affected Khan immensely. Khan then responded that he was, during his fight with Prescott, still flawed and that he had improved his defensive skills since then. Khan added that Kotelnik would have to hit him hard on the chin if he wants to knock him out. However, Khan believes that Kotelnik will not be able to land any of his shots at him. Khan looked a completely different fighter in the five rounds of his bout with Marco Antonio Barrera in March. Khan is expected to be moving a lot in their fight to prevent Kotelnik from landing his shots.

Amir Khan is convinced that the fight will be exciting, but is adamant that he will see off the experienced Ukranian, because of his steady improvement under coach Freddie Roach.

Khan has youth on his side at 22 compared to the 31 yr. old Kotelnik. However, Kotelnik is in the prime of his career whereas Khan is still developing as a fighter. Khan has the physical tools to win, but he needs to avoid the mistakes that he made in the Prescott fight if he has a chance of winning.

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