Amir Khan's dominant victory over Zab Judah this past Saturday night proved to the skeptics that he's on the cusp of becoming boxing's next big sensation. His skills are something to behold, and with youth on his side and the best trainer in the business in his corner, he is only getting better. There's one question that still lingers about Amir Khan however. Can he take a punch from a solid puncher? In 2008, Khan was on the fast track to stardom before he stepped into the ring with hard-hitting Colombian Breidis Prescott. Just 54 seconds later, Khan was flat on his back after taking a devastating shot square on the chin. He was immediately given the label of having a "glass jaw", but was that such a fair label to give?
Years ago, a fighter with a "glass jaw" was someone who would go down relatively easy. Now it seems once a fighter goes down once, people question his durability and toughness. Khan has come back strong since that knockout loss, including winning a slug-fest with quite possibly the hardest puncher in the junior welterweight division, Marcos Maidana. Khan was out on his feet in the 10th round of that war, but refused to go down and kept encouraging Maidana to bring the fight to him. Khan fought with a chip on his shoulder that night and felt as if he had something to prove to all his critics. Yet today, even after he took everything Maidana had to offer and then some, Khan still answers questions about his chin in almost every interview he gives.
Recently, other fighters have been given an unfair label of having a "glass jaw." Paul Williams, who is one of boxing's toughest customers, never had anybody question his toughness or chin before Sergio Martinez landed a picture-perfect left hand, putting Williams out instantly. Now, Paul Williams also faces questions about his toughness.
Victor Ortiz rightfully faced questions about his toughness after he quit against Maidana in 2009. Ortiz, however, has come back strong since then, proving he has the heart and the guts of a champion. But no matter how many wars Ortiz will go through for the remainder of his career, fight fans will always remember the night he quit in the ring.
Even Floyd Mayweather has recently had to answer questions about his chin. Technically, Mayweather has only been down once in his career, when he took a knee against Carlos Hernandez after breaking his right hand. Zab Judah also caught Floyd with a right hand which forced Mayweather to stumble, causing his glove to touch the canvas, but the referee incorrectly ruled it a slip. Shane Mosley rocked Mayweather with a hard right hand in Money's last fight, but Mayweather did not go down. Questions began to surface if Mayweather could take a punch like he used to.
Muhammad Ali was knocked down four times in his career. Sugar Ray Robinson hit the deck many times. Henry Armstrong, George Foreman, Joe Louis, Jack Johnson, Archie Moore, Jake LaMotta, all fighters who were knocked down or knocked out at one time or another in their careers. Never once has anyone ever questioned the toughness of these men, or the durability of their chin. Why should today's prizefighters be treated any differently?
If the internet and television were as prevalent back then as it is today, maybe this debate would be different, but this is boxing and no matter how great any fighter is, he will get stunned at some point. Sometimes he will go down, and sometimes he will stay upright. That does not mean anyone should question whether that fighter has a strong chin or not. Fighters should be judged on how they bounce back from a knockdown within the fight, or how they bounce back from a knockout loss. Those are the signs of a true champion.
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