Now, Now Amir, It's Time You Learn Some Sporting Manners!

This blogger has a confession to make.  I'm not the greatest fan of boxing.  Oddly enough i did quite enjoy boxing when i was younger but then all of sudden something clicked.  This sport can damage a person's life beyond repair.  Take for example Muhammad Ali, arguably greatest sports personality the world has ever seen.  When he said something, you listened, because he was an artist with words.  Several years later however, his brain function has been destroyed by the punches he suffered as a boxer and he now suffers from Parkinson's Disease.

The reason i mention boxing however is because i actually caught the end couple of rounds of the Amir Khan v Lamont Peterson today, which Peterson ended up winning on a points decision.  There were two things that struck me about Khan's defeat.

Firstly if you consider the fight in it's entirety you would actually have to concede that Peterson deserved to win and for one reason only.  Peterson was prepared to actually fight for 12 rounds.  Khan apparently knocked down Peterson in the early rounds, but you could almost read the mind of Khan by the final round.  He was thinking "Damn, why are you still standing?", while running 100 circuits of the ring to try and avoid Peterson head butting him. The point is everyone knows the world's greatest boxers may have the ability to knock the living  daylights out of another fella, but they also have the ability to win ugly and slug it out for 12 rounds.  Whether Khan has the ability to win ugly, and i should say within the rules, he may struggle to be treated as a serious boxing contender in any weight catergory.

Secondly, how ungracious was Khan in defeat.  Virtually no credit to his opponent for slugging it out and being able to get up from the canvas and beat him.  All Khan wanted to do was bemoan the fact the referee deducted two points from his score for misdermeanours.  Yes blog readers, this blogger is from the old school of good sportsmanship and graciousness in victory and defeat.  I find those sportsmen and women who get intp the "blaming"culture, where everyone else is culpable for their defeat except themselves.

So here is my advice to you Amir Khan.   Be gracious in defeat, man up, take responsibility in dealing with your frailities in the boxing ring, and most importantly learn from the defeat and use what you learn to be a better boxer.