Amir Khan throws water over Phil Lo Greco at pre-fight press conference

[AssassinatedDevil]

Amir Khan reacted to taunts about his personal life by throwing water over his future opponent Phil Lo Greco as the pair clashed at the press conference promoting their 21 April bout.

Khan is returning to the ring for the first time in almost two years after a period of well-publicised marital difficulties as well as a spell in the “I’m a Celebrity” jungle on TV.

Lo Greco, who has won 28 of his 31 fights, mocked Khan’s career trajectory, insisting he had been on a “losing streak” in and out of the ring since losing his last fight against Saul “Canelo” Álvarez in May 2016.

Khan responded by splashing water towards Lo Greco at the Liverpool press conference, prompting security to intervene before Khan insisted he would take the bout as seriously as ever.

Khan said: “I will train like it’s a world-title fight. Greco says maybe I’m past my best. I’m 31 and at the peak of my career. For me boxing is the way forward. Boxing put me here and I am going to finish on a high.”

Cynics may suggest Khan’s antics were designed to reignite his public profile since his signing with promoter Eddie Hearn, who has made no secret of his desire to make a domestic super-fight against the welterweight Kell Brook.

Brook returns to the ring for the first time since he lost his IBF welterweight title to Errol Spence last year when he faces Sergey Rabchenko in Sheffeld next month.

Khan insisted: “I have a great three-fight deal. To start in Liverpool, a great city, this will be another big one. He has just motivated me to go to the gym and work hard. I am going to give this guy a beating for 12 rounds.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...r-phil-lo-greco-in-pre-fight-press-conference

 

[Slog]

normal pre-fight shenanigans

also since neither are big draws there is a need for such media-grabbing antics to give hype to the fight

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

normal pre-fight shenanigans

also since neither are big draws there is a need for such media-grabbing antics to give hype to the fight

Yeah pretty much.

Amir khan seems to like being caught in scandals alot these days.

 

[UN talkz]

Too much Drama

 

[in_cutter]

Should have stayed calm. This is what he’s apponent wanted..a reaction. At the end of thr day..it’s pre-fight trash talk.

 

[Pakistanian]

He tred talking chit about amirs personal life and his wife, anybody would do what he did, probably even worse.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WATCH: <a href="https://twitter.com/amirkingkhan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@amirkingkhan</a>'s pre-fight press conference with <a href="https://twitter.com/Phil_Lo_Greco?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Phil_Lo_Greco</a> was temporarily halted after a scuffle broke out between the fighters! ? More here: <a href="https://t.co/v2l4iEpxqt">https://t.co/v2l4iEpxqt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KhanLoGreco?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KhanLoGreco</a> <a href="https://t.co/o6dmH8iosA">https://t.co/o6dmH8iosA</a></p>— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkySportsBoxing/status/958358473812529152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[DeadBall]

Well, at least Batman is on Khan's side.

 

[KingKhanWC]

That was below the belt by a nobody in boxing.

It will give Khan some extra motivation and I expect him to humiliate this bum in the ring over 12 rounds.

 

[gkb101277867]

That was below the belt by a nobody in boxing.

It will give Khan some extra motivation and I expect him to humiliate this bum in the ring over 12 rounds.

Usually bringing family into it is below the belt and classless but this was fair game. How can khan complain about his opponent saying things khan already said PUBLICLY? When you embarrass yourself and put such tweets out in public then don't complain when people remind you of it.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Usually bringing family into it is below the belt and classless but this was fair game. How can khan complain about his opponent saying things khan already said PUBLICLY? When you embarrass yourself and put such tweets out in public then don't complain when people remind you of it.

If you watch the press conference he was smiling when the bum boxer mentioned his tweet. It's when he called his wife 'a leftover' Amir threw water on him. Amir is not stupid, he knew comments about his tweets would come out but nobody should get so low by calling such names to someone wife.

If you see this without your bias then you would agree.

 

[gkb101277867]

If you watch the press conference he was smiling when the bum boxer mentioned his tweet. It's when he called his wife 'a leftover' Amir threw water on him. Amir is not stupid, he knew comments about his tweets would come out but nobody should get so low by calling such names to someone wife.

If you see this without your bias then you would agree.

I'm saying it without bias trust me. The leftover comment was tweeted publicly by khan himself. I believe the exact tweet by khan was " Faryal moved up the weight classes. Mans like AJ can have my leftovers".

If your going to tweet embarrassing and disgusting stuff then don't complain when someone reminds you of what you yourself wrote.

 

[Slog]

If you watch the press conference he was smiling when the bum boxer mentioned his tweet. It's when he called his wife 'a leftover' Amir threw water on him. Amir is not stupid, he knew comments about his tweets would come out but nobody should get so low by calling such names to someone wife.

If you see this without your bias then you would agree.

Khan himself called his wife a 'leftover'

 

[Pakistanian]

Khan himself called his wife a 'leftover'

Still that's his wife, you don't wanna hear anybody dis your wife or family.

 

[shortbread]

I'm saying it without bias trust me. The leftover comment was tweeted publicly by khan himself. I believe the exact tweet by khan was " Faryal moved up the weight classes. Mans like AJ can have my leftovers".

If your going to tweet embarrassing and disgusting stuff then don't complain when someone reminds you of what you yourself wrote.

Boy, he must be regretting that tweet now!

Albeit tbh, Lo Greco did him a favor and was able to grab some headlines atleast. Which makes me think this was staged! Because no one really was paying any attention to this fight until the whole water throwing incident. Like the saying goes 'Any publicity is good publicity!'

Man the guy was at such heights, it's a fickle sport this, when u fall the landing seems to be always hard on these boxers. He's working his way back now and all the best to Amir for that.

I expect Greco to be KO'd in the second round.

 

[shaz619]

Khan is one of the biggest draws in british boxing history but even a warm up fight with a C level opponent needs to be sold, however a combination of Amir's drawing power and this incident has sold out tickets in a day internally on matchroom's website. This is boxing and all is part/parcel of the game, in the end people get in the ring and pummel each other so don't see how we can be PC about this, after it all there's always sportsmanship more often then not. The Canadian Italian is a great character think about it, were it not for that chit chat he would never have found his way to PP, the fighters and matchmakers know what they are doing..

 

[Slog]

Khan is one of the biggest draws in british boxing history but even a warm up fight with a C level opponent needs to be sold, however a combination of Amir's drawing power and this incident has sold out tickets in a day internally on matchroom's website. This is boxing and all is part/parcel of the game, in the end people get in the ring and pummel each other so don't see how we can be PC about this, after it all there's always sportsmanship more often then not. The Canadian Italian is a great character think about it, were it not for that chit chat he would never have found his way to PP, the fighters and matchmakers know what they are doing..

is this fight a lose-lose situation for Khan?

if he wins it tells nothing, if he loses then pretty much even his biggest fans will have to say he is done and there is no way back

 

[shaz619]

is this fight a lose-lose situation for Khan?

if he wins it tells nothing, if he loses then pretty much even his biggest fans will have to say he is done and there is no way back

It's a tough one because he has been inactive for 2 years and is way past his best, the aim will be to win, shake off a bit of rust etc and then take it from there. I don't personally see him looking spectacular and the Greco bloke may even drop him. In defeat one could argue that it would pretty much be all over, and while he doesn't have the greatest in-ring IQ he is one of the mentally strongest fighters out there and has bounced back from defeat in the past. Either way I don't see this fight telling us a lot.

 

[waleed88]

Publicity stunt

 

[ExplicitAI]

I heard this was all a stunt, somebody paused the video and zoomed in on Khan's face and saw that his expression, not genuine.

 

[sshakir411]

Watched the video and LOL. Seems like it was all drama...trying hard for the fight to gain interest.

 

[shokz1408]

Last time someone got an emotional reaction out of khan was Garcia, and we know what happened then. I'm expecting a similar thing to go down here, and the end of khans career.

 

[Pakistanian]

It's a tough one because he has been inactive for 2 years and is way past his best, the aim will be to win, shake off a bit of rust etc and then take it from there. I don't personally see him looking spectacular and the Greco bloke may even drop him. In defeat one could argue that it would pretty much be all over, and while he doesn't have the greatest in-ring IQ he is one of the mentally strongest fighters out there and has bounced back from defeat in the past. Either way I don't see this fight telling us a lot.

Are there any other up and coming Brit Pak boxers to look out for? I'd hope that Amir has inspired a generation into boxing.

 

[Pakistanian]

Last time someone got an emotional reaction out of khan was Garcia, and we know what happened then. I'm expecting a similar thing to go down here, and the end of khans career.

Garcia didn't deserve that win.

 

[shokz1408]

Garcia didn't deserve that win.

Khan was outboxing both garcia and canelo, up until the point he got knocked out. But Garcia deserved the win in the end as did canelo, whom both showed sometimes power beats speed.

 

[shaz619]

Are there any other up and coming Brit Pak boxers to look out for? I'd hope that Amir has inspired a generation into boxing.

There's one fella called Muhammad Ali from the UK I believe 19 or 20, very talented and made it to the Olympics in Rio. Another bloke called Qais Ashfaq is another youngster who is an Olympian, he signed turned pro and signed with matchroom recently, both inspired by Amirs efforts in Athens.Yeah he has inspired a generation but a small number will make it to the big time because not a lot realise how much sacrifice, dedication and hard work is needed.

 

[shaz619]

Khan was outboxing both garcia and canelo, up until the point he got knocked out. But Garcia deserved the win in the end as did canelo, whom both showed sometimes power beats speed.

Canelo had like a 20-30lb weight advantage over Amir, he would have lost regardless. You'd always faver the boxer over the puncher more often then not but Canelo has a very high in-ring IQ and is a terrific counter puncher

 

[Slog]

Garcia didn't deserve that win.

Garcia did. Only fight where Amir was robbed was Lamont peterson one

 

[TSA321]

There's one fella called Muhammad Ali from the UK I believe 19 or 20, very talented and made it to the Olympics in Rio.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/oct/26/muhammad-ali-tests-positive-steroids-boxing-ban

 

[Jabo]

drama to hype the fight up

he and his wife and have been running to the media for the last year
so to spice his fight up and make them $
i am sure he wouldn't mind Lo Greco talking some ** about him and his wife

Khan should easily take this, should get the TKO late into the fight
i know khan doesn't have the best of chins but i cant see Le Greco putting him out, he may wobble him like Julio Diaz and Algeri did but he wont stop him.

 

[Jabo]

Garcia did. Only fight where Amir was robbed was Lamont peterson one

he was robbed in that fight but he also fought like an idiot and deserved to lose

 

[shokz1408]

Canelo had like a 20-30lb weight advantage over Amir, he would have lost regardless. You'd always faver the boxer over the puncher more often then not but Canelo has a very high in-ring IQ and is a terrific counter puncher

You're wrong there bro. When it comes to khan you always favour the puncher more.

 

[shokz1408]

Garcia did. Only fight where Amir was robbed was Lamont peterson one

Yeah khan had won that fight in my eyes, the result was a shocker.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

You're wrong there bro. When it comes to khan you always favour the puncher more.

Mainly because Khan's not a great boxer. Hand speed alone doesn't make you a good boxer, you need ring smarts as well, not to mention a good defence. Khan fights too emotionally and gets dragged into slugfests. Plus, Canelo is a damn fine boxer in his own right, hardly just a puncher.

 

[shaz619]

You're wrong there bro. When it comes to khan you always favour the puncher more.

I wasn't reffering to Khan specifically, however he did deal with maidana who was biggest puncher at 140 and even bigger then Garcia. However, timing always beats speed and his kryptonite tends to be counter punchers (garcia/canelo), poor defence, focus and in-ring awareness. But at the same time Khan is not someone you can win rounds against easily and do you really want to bank on a punchers chance every time....this is why he failed to get top opposition to step in the ring with him at his peak, Floyd, Bradley, Manny etc

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

is this fight a lose-lose situation for Khan?

if he wins it tells nothing, if he loses then pretty much even his biggest fans will have to say he is done and there is no way back

Yes I would say it is. No one is really going to expect him to lose to this guy whoever he is. It's basically a warm up fight to ease him back into the game. Pointless from a spectator point of view in my opinion. I don't know what his age is now, but he's basically wasted two years of his career, and taking fights like this is just making that time out drag even more.

 

[shokz1408]

Mainly because Khan's not a great boxer. Hand speed alone doesn't make you a good boxer, you need ring smarts as well, not to mention a good defence. Khan fights too emotionally and gets dragged into slugfests. Plus, Canelo is a damn fine boxer in his own right, hardly just a puncher.

That's true khan doesn't have a good defence, so he relys on speed but his 2 weaknesses of poor defence and weak chin means a good boxer, or just an average boxer with punching power is usually enough to beat khan.

 

[shokz1408]

I wasn't reffering to Khan specifically, however he did deal with maidana who was biggest puncher at 140 and even bigger then Garcia. However, timing always beats speed and his kryptonite tends to be counter punchers (garcia/canelo), poor defence, focus and in-ring awareness. But at the same time Khan is not someone you can win rounds against easily and do you really want to bank on a punchers chance every time....this is why he failed to get top opposition to step in the ring with him at his peak, Floyd, Bradley, Manny etc

That Maidana fight was something, however Maidana looked like he would KO khan but ran out of time, khan was running around looking at the clock in the 12th. Im pretty sure if the rematch happens which it should have by now, maidana takes khan by KO.

Khan really struggles with the counter punches, the Garcia and canelo fight were like a carbon copy of eachother, khan won all the rounds and then couldn't handle the shots. It's such a pain to watch, winning all the rounds but it's meaningless the other guy just needs that one good shot to drop khan so he could lose 11 rounds but knock khan out in the 12th.

Agreed, khan will win most rounds against most opponents. But all those opponents will know deep down no matter how many rounds he wins, if they land just a few good shots it's lights out for khan.

 

[shaz619]

That Maidana fight was something, however Maidana looked like he would KO khan but ran out of time, khan was running around looking at the clock in the 12th. Im pretty sure if the rematch happens which it should have by now, maidana takes khan by KO.

Khan really struggles with the counter punches, the Garcia and canelo fight were like a carbon copy of eachother, khan won all the rounds and then couldn't handle the shots. It's such a pain to watch, winning all the rounds but it's meaningless the other guy just needs that one good shot to drop khan so he could lose 11 rounds but knock khan out in the 12th.

Agreed, khan will win most rounds against most opponents. But all those opponents will know deep down no matter how many rounds he wins, if they land just a few good shots it's lights out for khan.

It's all ifs and butts, if we go by that then maidana was on the brink of being KO'd in round 1 when he was hit with a devastating body shot but was saved by the bell. Khan has an excellent win over maidana and Floyd had life/death with him, so we need to give credit where due. If the fight happens now Maidana loses in 20 seconds I dont think you have seen the state of him

'if they land a few good shots' you see, deep down am not sure they truly believe that or all those names would have fought him at his peak at 147lb.

 

[shokz1408]

It's all ifs and butts, if we go by that then maidana was on the brink of being KO'd in round 1 when he was hit with a devastating body shot but was saved by the bell. Khan has an excellent win over maidana and Floyd had life/death with him, so we need to give credit where due. If the fight happens now Maidana loses in 20 seconds I dont think you have seen the state of him

'if they land a few good shots' you see, deep down am not sure they truly believe that or all those names would have fought him at his peak at 147lb.

The maidana win is probably the best of khan's career, I just never got to see him again take some powerful punches and stay upright. I'm predicting greco KO's him between round 4-6, what's your prediction? He may not be as well known as other boxers, but neither was prescott he was a nobody.

A couple of lbs here or there is not going to improve khan's chin, and if good/powerful boxers are always going to be able to put him away, he will never be world class. Let's be real he's not at that level, there''s always going to be someone that can knock him out.

I hadn't actually seen maidana recently, I just checked on wiki and was surprised he last fought mayweather in 2014. However khan has also come off a loss, and not fought in 2 years, so If given time to prepare I see maidana beating him this time. Like you said maidana did make mayweather struggle, and I believe would make khan struggle much more than the previous outing.

 

[shaz619]

The maidana win is probably the best of khan's career, I just never got to see him again take some powerful punches and stay upright. I'm predicting greco KO's him between round 4-6, what's your prediction? He may not be as well known as other boxers, but neither was prescott he was a nobody.

A couple of lbs here or there is not going to improve khan's chin, and if good/powerful boxers are always going to be able to put him away, he will never be world class. Let's be real he's not at that level, there''s always going to be someone that can knock him out.

I hadn't actually seen maidana recently, I just checked on wiki and was surprised he last fought mayweather in 2014. However khan has also come off a loss, and not fought in 2 years, so If given time to prepare I see maidana beating him this time. Like you said maidana did make mayweather struggle, and I believe would make khan struggle much more than the previous outing.

Like I said, he took a peak maidana's best so that goes to show that his chin issues are exaggeratted and they fought each other in their prime with Khan winning so what happens now is irrelevant. His problem is more to do with defence and ring awareness, if you have laced a pair of gloves you will see that its the punches you dont see that are devastating e.g skilled counter punchers and their timing. Most also don't understand the context of his defeats and look too much into them whilst refusing to focus on all the world class wins / high calibre resume based on opposition quality. And to remotely suggest his career hasn't been world class is ignorant when he is 1-2 elite wins from a hall of fame induction and remains one of britains greatest.

I can see either man winning because Khan is not the guy who fought Collazo, Alexander, Judah, Maidana, Malignagi, Kotelnik etc years ago and has been inactive a long time.

Styles make fights and while we as fans can say so and so will KO him, thr fact is the likes of bradley and floyd etc ducked Khan at his peak despite a nice pay day for a reason.

 

[KingKhanWC]

The maidana win is probably the best of khan's career, I just never got to see him again take some powerful punches and stay upright. I'm predicting greco KO's him between round 4-6, what's your prediction? He may not be as well known as other boxers, but neither was prescott he was a nobody.

A couple of lbs here or there is not going to improve khan's chin, and if good/powerful boxers are always going to be able to put him away, he will never be world class. Let's be real he's not at that level, there''s always going to be someone that can knock him out.

I hadn't actually seen maidana recently, I just checked on wiki and was surprised he last fought mayweather in 2014. However khan has also come off a loss, and not fought in 2 years, so If given time to prepare I see maidana beating him this time. Like you said maidana did make mayweather struggle, and I believe would make khan struggle much more than the previous outing.

He's a bum who has lost 17 times. It's all hype, Khan even being out for a couple of years will have too much speed and skill for him.

 

[shaz619]

He's a bum who has lost 17 times. It's all hype, Khan even being out for a couple of years will have too much speed and skill for him.

We should stop calling these guys bums in the end it takes a certain type to step in the ring and every man has their own individual journey which involves a lot of sacrifice, pain and misery but they just keep going. But because they are not big names we don't know their story. So am glad that Greco will be getting paid well after years of scratching and clawing, I like how he didn't just show up to kiss everyone's backside

Also, to Greco's credit he has atleasy been on the world level having fought Porter went 10 rounds despite taking so much punishment and took on Spence with 2 days notice! Kell Brool on the other hand took on guys like bizier, no no dan and gavin in world title defences and those guys had never fought anyone at the level of guys on Greco's resume. He's an acceptable opponent for Amir as a comeback and much better then all of Kells world title defence opponents besides Spence.

Also I seen some criticising this choice of opponent, firstly in my view Khan should have picked an even inferior opponent because he needs rounds after a long lay off. And this is boxing, not the kids game where you roll around on top of each other on the floor you can't go into a big fight with such a big period of inactivity and big KO loss; you can only do that in mma I see supermarket supervisors do it often in the UFC, doesn't require real fighting

 

[shaz619]

He's a bum who has lost 17 times. It's all hype, Khan even being out for a couple of years will have too much speed and skill for him.

He has just 3 defeats mate:

http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/353804

By no means world class but there is some abillity there but his majory strength is his durability, also great at catching you when you leave yourself too open. Ths fights at 150lb to, I would never have given away 3lb but maybe Amir also prefers that I don't know

 

[KingKhanWC]

He has just 3 defeats mate:

http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/353804

By no means world class but there is some abillity there but his majory strength is his durability, also great at catching you when you leave yourself too open. Ths fights at 150lb to, I would never have given away 3lb but maybe Amir also prefers that I don't know

Tbh Ive never heard of him and was listening to the radio before his interview and the talksport host said he lost 17 times. I found it shocking tbh but thanks.

Radio also mentioned he fights at 154lbs so will be drained if dropping to 147. I can't see Amir choosing n opponent who could outbox him so I guess his only hope is to knock out Khan. Will be interesting to see.

 

[shaz619]

Tbh Ive never heard of him and was listening to the radio before his interview and the talksport host said he lost 17 times. I found it shocking tbh but thanks.

Radio also mentioned he fights at 154lbs so will be drained if dropping to 147. I can't see Amir choosing n opponent who could outbox him so I guess his only hope is to knock out Khan. Will be interesting to see.

He's a big welterweight this Greco dude, he has switched between 147 an 154 in the past. They picked him because he's someone they can beat if all goes well and also because he has been at the world level against spence and porter so that was a selling point as well

 

[shaz619]

[MENTION=43583]KingKhanWC[/MENTION] Ricky Hatton lost to Vyacheslav Senchenko whom we all expected to beat. Frank Sinatra made more comebacks than most and failing to hit the right note might have been embarrassing but less dangerous than finding out your reflexes and timing have gone, and it's also not a matter of overcoming Greco but when you've suffered the horrendous KO's Khan has and especially the devastating one against Canelo you got to fear for him, very few are able to bounce back from one of those flush KO's but he has suffered 3 of them. Then there's the question of his engine? for 12 rounds the endurance may not be what it use to be and his foot speed may decline. Khan has never been the type of fighter to adjust and has mostly relied on his raw tools, without them and his youth there's a lot to overcome both mentally and physically so from that POV there's a lot more at stake then people think, just getting through would be a success. If he does, Adrien Broner could be next; I wont mind going to that in the UK