Boxing: Khan Proves He's Still an Amateur

Whatever the future has in store for Britain's Olympic boxing silver medallist Amir Khan, nobody can question the lad's guts. But whether he should be squaring off against Cuba's Mario Kindelan, the man who beat him in last summer's lightweight final, at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday night is another matter entirely.

Stand by for a week when Khan, the boy wonder, is once more the talk of the nation. But consider, too, that next weekend's unnecessary rematch, being shown live on ITV, carries not just the risk of defeat but of injury to the 18-year-old amateur.

Before anybody suggests a manipulative promoter or a money-grabbing national federation has pushed Khan into the bout, forget it. The English Amateur Boxing Association will be delighted at the exposure its sport is receiving and Frank Warren, who will ultimately promote Khan's professional career, will be more than happy to have a show that brings boxing back to ITV after a 10-year gap. But its profit is incidental. It was always Khan himself who was hell bent on having another tilt at his Olympic nemesis before forging a career in the paid ranks.

Kindelan does not do losing - at least not often. The 34-year-old is one of Fidel Castro's favourites and a Cuban national hero. He has three consecutive World Amateur Championship gold medals to add to his back-to-back Olympic titles and in the amateur sport it does not get much better than that.

Years ago Kindelan easily beat a young Puerto Rican prospect Felix Trinidad, who coincidentally picks up a multi-million dollar purse at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday fighting Ronald "Winky" Wright. The mind boggles at the money Kindelan might have made had he ever chosen to forsake his country's communist regime, though some might say there is much to admire in a man who puts the love of his people ahead of monetary wealth.

Khan's youthful vigour and irrepressible self-belief made him one of the outstanding British Olympians and he has not been remotely fazed by the celebrity that has followed. But privately the ABA old guard will whisper that there might have been times when he has been too keen on enjoying his fame, and they ask if his entourage of friends and admirers has become a distraction.

If I had been paid a fiver by everybody who has asked me since the Olympics, "How good is Amir, will he make it as a professional?" I would be well on the way to getting into an income bracket that allows the purchase of the 200mph McLaren-Mercedes Benz that put Naseem Hamed back in the headlines last week after that terrifying head-on smash near his home on the outskirts of Sheffield. I hope very much that Amir will ultimately become a great champion but the truth is it is too soon to know if he has what it takes.

What I do believe is that Hamed was comfortably the better fighter at the same age and the reason was that he had been so brilliantly schooled among the professionals in Brendan Ingle's gym in the run-down east end of Sheffield. Ingle is a wise old trainer who preaches a "hit and don't be hit" philosophy that Hamed was able to adapt beautifully in his own elusive style. At 18 Hamed was already exceptional and, by the age of 21, his talent was captivating millions of fans. It was only later, when he split with Ingle and decided to go his own way, that he began to rely on single knockout punches that caused him to lose his sparkle.

By contrast Khan is simply too easy to hit. Despite impressive hand speed allied to good balance, confidence and that formidable competitive spirit, the youngster has a tendency to drop his gloves and lunge into range leaving him wide open to an accurate counter-puncher like Kindelan. If the Cuban is firing on all cylinders, he must be heavily favoured to outbox Khan once again.

The proceeds from the fight will go to charity and towards funding the Bury Amateur Boxing Club where Khan learnt to box. Already there is also talk of him being part of a team to fight against the Cubans in Havana later in the summer. Frankly it seems madness for him to go, however much pressure the English ABA may place on him. Why take such a gamble with his reputation?

Boxing, even at amateur level, is not a tea party. When Khan was dumped on his backside and his nose bloodied by the Salford hod carrier Craig Watson in the ABA Championships earlier this year, it should have been a wake-up call. His preparations had been poor and he nearly paid the price. When Khan subsequently explained: "It was good to feel the power of bigger light welterweights," there were plenty who shook their heads in the belief that Khan should get into a pro gym to have his leaky defence tightened up, and the sooner the better.

Perhaps Khan can pull off an upset, and good luck to him. Favourable ITV ratings could prompt the network to return to broadcasting professional boxing on a regular basis, which would surely be good news for a sport that still commands a loyal audience that would welcome the boxing being on terrestrial television.

Yes, it takes guts to do what Khan is attempting on Saturday but the amateur high-life should end there. It is time to knuckle down to a professional regime. Only then, after at least a couple of years spent learning the game, will the answer to the question of whether Amir is good enough to make the grade become truly apparent.