Boxing Betting Tip - Amir Khan vs. Marco Antonio Barrera
Published March 13, 2009 by Martin Bean
In quite possibly the most interesting boxing spectacle so far this year, 22 year old Amir Khan takes on former three weight world champion, 35 year old Marco Antonio Barrera, at Manchester’s MEN Arena tomorrow night (Saturday 14th March 2009).
It’s a fight where there are so many question marks against both fighters – is Khan really fit to be sharing the ring with a legend like Barrera? Can the fragile Khan take the smaller Barrera’s punches? Is Barrera shot? At the age of 35 can Barrera overcome the reach and speed advantages Khan holds? Throw all of these into the melting pot this Saturday night and we truly do have a spectacle that is worthy of pay per view (about time Frank Warren, the last couple have been poor).
Another factor to consider is Amir Khan’s trainer, Freddie Roach. One of the world’s premier trainers, Roach’s influence in this contest cannot be underestimated. This is the second full camp Roach has had with Khan and he knows Barrera well – remember that Roach prepared Manny Pacquiao to beat Barrera twice in the past and therefore will know areas where he see’s deficiencies in Barrera’s boxing well. Roach has been saying all the right things this week in the build up to the fight – that Khan needs to box clever, be patient, no go looking for the knockout. If Khan can put Roach’s plan into motion then he should prevail.
For Barrera, this is his last big opportunity. Now being promoted by the world’s most infamous boxing promoter, Don King, a win over Khan will see him in line for a WBO Lightweight Title shot in a rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez. Much has been made of Barrera’s size but I think the biggest problem facing Barrera here is his style; the aggressive, high work rate of all has been sensibly replaced by intelligent counter punching in recent years. Fact is, that approach simply won’t be enough to beat Khan who is quicker of hand and foot and rangy. If Barrera has realised he can’t beat Khan on the counter then we have a real chance – we may see the ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ attack Khan relentlessly and this would give the Bolton man serious issues.
Overall, this is a fight that could go either way. For Barrera to win he needs to get inside Khan’s reach and unleash combinations to head and body – basically he needs to roll back the years. Whilst Barrera is not the man of yesteryear we’ve already seen how older fighters can still have at least one great performance in them, with Bernard Hopkins vs. Kelly Pavlik and Shane Mosley vs. Antonio Margarito perfect examples of this.
Ultimately though, I see Khan taking this contest. His speed will be a decisive factor and if he can show real patience then he can take a points victory by a margin of four or five rounds. There could be some sticky patches though – Barrera is bound to get on the inside at some point and if he can unleash quick combinations inside, he is capable of hurting Khan to head and body.
This is sure to be an excellent night of boxing with a more poised, confident and mature Khan emerging victorious.
BOXING CAPITAL TIP – Khan to Win on Points @ 2/1 (Skybet)
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