In a clash of former Olympic silver medalists, Amir Khan (21-1, 15 KOs) won the WBA super lightweight championship by outboxing reigning titleholder Andreas Kotelnik (31-3-1, 13 KOs) on Saturday night at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England. Khan, who moved up from lightweight, was busier in round one. Kotelnik upped the pressure in round two as Khan boxed from long range. That was pattern of the fight as the counter-puncher Kotelnik was forced to take more of an aggressor’s role against the fleet-footed youngster’s long range sharp-shooting. Good two-way action at times, but Khan’s strategy to quickly move in and out paid dividends on the scorecards. Scores were 120-108, 118-111, 118-111.
—–
Unbeaten cruiserweight Denis Lebedev (18-0, 13 KOs) may have ended the career of former WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli (29-4, 22 KOs), brutally stopping him in round three. Maccarinelli was never down, but was being punished severely by Ledebev when the bout was waved off. With the win, Ledebev claims the vacant WBO Intercontinental title. Macca, who has now lost three of four, had vowed to retire if Lebedev beat him.
This victory of Amir Khan puts him on collission course with his former sparring partner Manny Pacquiao. Super Lightweight is also Junior Welterweight. They are good friends. I don’t like to see them fight in the future. But I congratulate Amir for this feat after suffering a first round TKO loss before this fight. CONGRATULATIONS AMIR KHAN. His perseverance worked.
Comments are closed.