Amir Khan Loses Title and Respect

If you didn't happen to catch the Amir Khan - Lamont Peterson Championship Match this past weekend, here is the entire thing in all of its YouTube glory:

All in all, a very enjoyable fight. Khan dominated the early going, showing his credentials as a champion as expected, with nothing of note to write home about. The fight picked up in the second half, with Peterson having to really go for it, rather than let Kahn just run around the ring, "embarrassing" Lamont as one of the commentators put it, as he had done for the first five or so rounds. It paid off in the end, and Peterson dethroned the World Champion following a two point penalty deduction on Kahn for shoving in the final round.

Photo courtesy of The Ring

Peterson's achievement cannot be understated. Upsetting the odds is nothing new to a young man who had to survive on the streets of Washington for a long time, which naturally makes for a great story. But ever since the fight ended, all of the talking points, at least on this side of the Atlantic, have been focused on Khan. And their not all flattering for the now former champion.

Naivety & Immaturity

Khan is a former two-time world champion. He is rated as one of the best technical boxers around, and seen as the best in the light-welterweight division. His career is loaded with tremendous accolades and achievements, and his record in both amateur and professional boxing is close to immaculate.

Why, oh why did Khan agree to have a title defence in Washington DC against a Washington fighter then? In most circumstances, the challenger would have to travel for a title shot, and considering the weight that Kahn carries in the boxing world at this very moment, there's no way this fight should have taken place outside of the UK, at least from a Team Khan perspective.

Firstly, there's the obvious issue of not having the home crowd support. This probably didn't bother Kahn a great deal, especially if he agreed to fight across The Pond, but perhaps it gave Peterson the lift that he needed in those last few rounds. Secondly, two of the judges were American, which doesn't help Khan from the get-go. Home town decisions occur frequently in this sport, Khan should have known that. God knows he does now,

More importantly and decisively in terms of the final scorecard, why did Khan persist in pushing and shoving whenever Peterson was holding on? While it's not the most heinous of crimes to commit inside the squared circle, it's certainly not in the spirit of the sport. After being warned by the referee at least twice about it early on, Khan should have realised two things: 1) this ref clearly won't tolerate pushing, thus maybe I should stop, and 2) keep it safe in the final round, it's probably the best strategy when defending away from home. Khan did neither: he shoved Peterson off of him with a forearm in the seventh round, receiving a point deduction for it, and was penalised, crucially, for two points in the last round for the same transgression. Those two points would have secured a successful title defence for Khan.

The Bolton native certainly didn't do his popularity any good in the aftermath of the defeat with his post-fight comments either, telling Larry Merchant that he was "fighting two people in there." The more he complained, the less the viewer sympathised with him. He then went on to say, "no wonder there have been no fights in Washington in the last twenty years", telling the world that this is what happens "when you fight in Washington DC." The crowd loudly booed his insulting comments. Khan was, to use pro-wrestling terminology, heeling it up big time.

In the press conference afterwards, when asked if he regretted fighting in DC, he responded with yet more trash talking:

"No, this is a learning curve. That's just the character I am. I'm not scaring (sic) of coming to DC and fighting him. Now let's see if he has the same balls to come and fight me in the UK. I don't think he has..."

Khan's undoubted class inside the ring is not matched outside of it. While he certainly has not reached a Floyd Mayweather level of petulance, when juxtaposed against the story of Peterson's heroic rise from the streets to the top of the light-welterweight division, Amir Khan comes out looking like a spoilt brat.

Bernard Dunne: Respected in the Ring and Dignified in Retirement

On 19 February 2010, Bernard Dunne announced that he had hung up his gloves for the last time and retired from professional boxing.

Dunne's contribution to boxing in Ireland cannot be understated. He brought the sport to a level of publicity and popularity not seen since the days of Barry McGuigan, who was certainly an inspiration to a young Bernard in his formative years. Without doubt, his career and legacy will be enshrined in the annals of irish sporting history.

Born in Clondalkin, Co.Dublin, Dunne had a very successful amateur career, only losing 11 out of 130 fights and capturing 13 Irish titles along the way. Despite this, Dunne, who's father once competed at the Olympics, failed to qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympics in Australia. He still maintains that this is one of the disappointments of his entire career.

Dunne began fighting professionally in the US in 2001 under the world renowned trainer Freddie Roach, and trained with Manny Picquiao on occasion. Winning 14 bouts in the States, he returned to Ireland under manager Brian Peters and signed a television with RTÉ, thereby elevating the coverage of boxing in this country.

In 2005, The Dublin Dynamo defeated Sean Hughes to capture the IBC Super Bantamweight Title at the National Stadium. However, Dunne's breakthrough really came when he beat Esham Pickering to win the European Super-bantamweight Title on 11 November 2006. He twice defended this successfully before dropping the belt to Kiki Martinez, in a shock first round knockout at the Point Depot.

Dunne would recover from that devastating loss to contend for the WBA Super Bantamweight Title at the O2 Arena, formerly known as The Point, in Dublin. The reigning champion was the highly impressive Ricardo Cordoba, who had only lost twice previously. The Dynamo won a thrilling fight with an 11th round knockout to mark an historic day which also saw the Irish rugby team win the Six Nations Grand Slam. Coincidentally, Ireland also won a Boxing World Title when the country last won the Grand Slam 61 years ago. He was also crowned Boxer of the Month for March by the WBA on 10 April 2010.

Following his phenomenal victory over the Panamaniam southpaw, Dunne made the first defence of his title against Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym on 26 September 2009. However, after suffering a third knockdown in only the 3rd round, Bernard lost his world title to the highly rated Thai by way of KO. It was a heartbreaking moment for the Dubliner, and his fans, who had come such a long way on his journey to date.

Undoubtedly, Bernard gave inspiration to people all over the country and boosted the sport's profile almost single-handedly. His fights will forever live in the memory of those who followed his career. By retiring now, at the age of 30, Dunne is taking the wise option at this stage of his life, something that is rarely seen in the professional game. He will now have as much time as he wishes to spend with his wife and two kids.

Find out more about Bernard Dunne at BoxRec or on Facebook.