by James Slater: Next up for lightweight prospect Amir Khan, as we all know, is unbeaten Colombian puncher, Breidis Prescott. The September 6th fight is being advertised as something of a risky fight for Khan, even a major step up. Is it though?
Yes, the 5’11” Colombian has impressive numbers, with 17 of his 19 wins being KO’s. But take a look at his stats on Box Rec.com, and you will see a number of quite important things. Number 1, Prescott has boxed practically all his pro fights in his home town of Barranquilla in Columbia ( the 25-year-old has two fights to his credit that took place anywhere other than Colombia). Number two, there is not one overly recognizable name on Prescott’s record, and number 3, only six of the puncher’s opponents actually had a winning record.
Add all this up, and the conclusion you come to is one that tells you Khan will be meeting a hard hitter, yes – but a vastly inexperienced one. In short, knocking out guys with 4-5-3, 0-7-0 and 3-23 records is no way to prepare for a fight with as skilful a boxer as Amir Khan. Sure, Khan’s punch resistance has appeared to let him down on occasion and there is always a chance that Prescott could get lucky and land a bomb on his chin, but I doubt this will happen.
What we essentially have on September the 6th is a match-up that, at first glance, looks good on paper, but is nothing more than an easily winnable fight for the former Olympic silver medallist and overall amateur standout. Perhaps Khan’s people took this fight as a way to try and prove something to the critics who say Amir cannot take a good shot. The thinking being, that if (when) Khan beats a guy with such a formidable looking KO ratio, he will have shown something. But does it mean all that much beating a veritable novice in the professional ranks?
In his last fight, against another unbeaten, but unproven (as a pro) fighter who had built up a record against guys with losing records, Prescott was taken to a split decision against Cuba’s Richard Abril. The Roger Mayweather-trained Abril is, without a doubt, the best opponent Prescott has been in with. Indeed, the Cuban who now lives in Miami was expected to perhaps make a splash on the world scene one day. But he is no Amir Khan and Prescott was deemed lucky to have been given the close points win over him in the bout that took place in Florida (Prescott’s U.S debut) back in June of this year.
The Colombian’s power-punching let him down against his best opponent to date, and it will do so again against as gifted a fighter as Khan. Despite hype to the contrary, Prescott is neither a step up nor a 50-50 opponent for the unbeaten lightweight star. Look for Khan to win around the halfway stage in September.