Amir Khan keen to get the headguard strapped on again.....for Pakistan

http://www.skysports.com/boxing/news/12040/10301275/amir-khan-keen-to-represent-pakistan-at-olympic-games-in-rio



And he wonders why Brits don't like him so much....

As a more important aside, AIBA's decision to allow pros to fight amateurs appears to be a widely regarded disgrace. Sickening almost. Anyone disagree?

Think Khan is feeling unloved and I agree is may seem like he's spitting in the face of Great Britain after the backing and support he's been given over the years. Certainly not doing himself any favours.

However, wait for TRUSS to come on a start his "Lewis is Canadian" diatribe once again as some kind of justification for it.

I was going to stick the boot in. But I will leave that for others.

I have said my piece on him many a time.

All I will say, is use a country to get ahead, then turn your back when you have a big name.

AdamT wrote:I was going to stick the boot in. But I will leave that for others.

I have said my piece on him many a time.

All I will say, is use a country to get ahead, then turn your back when you have a big name.

Lewis is Canadian...there, saved TRUSS the bother.

DAVE667 wrote:

AdamT wrote:I was going to stick the boot in. But I will leave that for others.

I have said my piece on him many a time.

All I will say, is use a country to get ahead, then turn your back when you have a big name.

Lewis is Canadian...there, saved TRUSS the bother.

He can drag Lewis into this if he wants, but the thread says Amir Khan. No doubt anyone that says anything bad, is a racist.

Lewis was actually born in the UK and it made business sense to fight over here.

AdamT wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:

AdamT wrote:I was going to stick the boot in. But I will leave that for others.

I have said my piece on him many a time.

All I will say, is use a country to get ahead, then turn your back when you have a big name.

Lewis is Canadian...there, saved TRUSS the bother.

He can drag Lewis into this if he wants, but the thread says Amir Khan. No doubt anyone that says anything bad, is a racist.

Lewis was actually born in the UK and it made business sense to fight over here.

We've been through all that with him but he simply insists that Lewis is Canadian......by the way, you're a racist!

Yeah I hate whites, blacks, everybody.

He can have Pakistani headgear if he wants. All he needs to do is hand in that silver medal in exchange. Sound fair?

Khan could strap on three headguards over each other and still get clocked in the first half of the fight.

Knowsit17 wrote:He can have Pakistani headgear if he wants. All he needs to do is hand in that silver medal in exchange. Sound fair?

Khan could strap on three headguards over each other and still get clocked in the first half of the fight.

I fair enough, but who can outbox him??

Nobody. Like Tommy Hearns....

Could Hearns outbox Khan??

Shame Tommy couldn't fight Amir at WW

There's still time.

Isn't Tommy up at CW now, surely he's one for Bellew!

DAVE667 wrote:Isn't Tommy up at CW now, surely he's one for Bellew!

I back Tommy!

AdamT wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:Isn't Tommy up at CW now, surely he's one for Bellew!

I back Tommy!

Surely Tommy's kids can now feed themselves which means I give the edge to Bellew...cos he's got kids to feed, I don't know if anybody knows this but he does, he has kids, with mouths, that need food putting in so that's why he fights, to feed his kids, the ones he has that no-one seems to know need feeding except Bellew, the fighter, the one who fights to feed his kids who need feeding with food that he provides by fighting....for the kids, his kids.

Not sure what is wrong with Khan's comments. He is British but is proud of his Pakistani heritage. He already has an Olympic medal representing Britain and getting one for Pakistan appeals to him. Struggle to see what is so unreasonable about that, or what there is to get wound up about.

Rowley wrote:Not sure what is wrong with Khan's comments. He is British but is proud of his Pakistani heritage. He already has an Olympic medal representing Britain and getting one for Pakistan appeals to him. Struggle to see what is so unreasonable about that, or what there is to get wound up about.

Footballer has 20 caps with England and fancies a switch to Germany. There would be uproar.

Why doesn't he want to do it for Team GB though??

You know, the country that paid for all his original training, providing him his founding amateur opportunities, supported his early career.....

TopHat24/7 wrote:Why doesn't he want to do it for Team GB though??

.

Because he has already done that. I did mention that previously.

Rowley wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:Why doesn't he want to do it for Team GB though??

.

Because he has already done that. I did mention that previously.

He should of fought for Pakistan in 04. I would have no problem with that. It is families homeland. I don't agree with switching countries during Olympics. Just my opinion and it isn't just related to Khan, it goes for everybody. If Lewis was still boxing now and represented GB, that would be very wrong.

If there is nothing in the rules that prohibit it I don't have an issue with it. He is clearly proud of both parts of his background, if the rules don't prevent him switching I understand the instinct to try and achieve similar feats for both countries.

AdamT wrote:

Rowley wrote:Not sure what is wrong with Khan's comments. He is British but is proud of his Pakistani heritage. He already has an Olympic medal representing Britain and getting one for Pakistan appeals to him. Struggle to see what is so unreasonable about that, or what there is to get wound up about.

Footballer has 20 caps with England and fancies a switch to Germany. There would be uproar.

Diego Costa is seen as a traitor...as well as a dirty cheating thuggish c*nt (but that has nothing to do with his heritage)

As with comedy, fighting at the Olympics is all about timing and the ruling that professionals can compete at the Olympics has coincided nicely with the backlash Amir seems to be getting for his outright refusal to fight Kell Brook under any circumstances. I'm just saying...and I'm aware it probably makes me a racist hater or some such fricktardery but them's the breaks I suppose.

If Kell Brook fought for GB, would Khan void the Olympics then?? Maybe he would fight at heavyweight or something?

Rowley wrote:Not sure what is wrong with Khan's comments. He is British but is proud of his Pakistani heritage. He already has an Olympic medal representing Britain and getting one for Pakistan appeals to him. Struggle to see what is so unreasonable about that, or what there is to get wound up about.

Fair comment. Yes Khan is of Pakistani heritage through his parents and yes he has the right to relate culturally to that heritage. However the right to just pick and choose who you represent and when you represent them is highly questionable. We've had parallel debates in rugby in recent times. Specifically, there are some who believe retired All Blacks should have the right to revert to playing for their country of birth i.e. Samoa, Fiji etc. Meanwhile there are others who see this as justification of mercenary culture and who believe that you can only make one true allegiance in sporting terms. Don't want to get too far into this, just thought it's an interesting parallel to draw.

I know you could cite the case of Lennox Lewis who represented Canada as an amateur and GB as a pro. However there are a couple of differences. Lewis was living in Canada at the time and holds dual citizenship. From what I can tell Khan has never lived in Pakistan, nor does he hold Pakistani citizenship. He also chose to represent GB at both amateur and pro level. Could he not simply have represented Pakistan at Athens rather than look back later through indecision? It's a bit like if Calzaghe were to come out of retirement wanting to represent Italy.

Rowley wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:Why doesn't he want to do it for Team GB though??

.

Because he has already done that. I did mention that previously.

As joyful as your flippancy is, that doesn't really answer the question though. If he wants a Olympic Gold he can do it for his birth country which he tried it for last time. That he's choosing not to and desires to represent someone else (irrespective of heritage) is disrespectful and indicative of that attitude that's turn people off him for many years.

Like Mo Farah ??...

But he's winning for GB so it's okay...

Hypocrisy alive and well it seems..

TopHat24/7 wrote:

Rowley wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:Why doesn't he want to do it for Team GB though??

.

Because he has already done that. I did mention that previously.

As joyful as your flippancy is, that doesn't really answer the question though.  If he wants a Olympic Gold he can do it for his birth country which he tried it for last time.  That he's choosing not to and desires to represent someone else (irrespective of heritage) is disrespectful and indicative of that attitude that's turn people off him for many years.

I agree. I was raised a Catholic from Northern Ireland. If I represented Northern Ireland in powerlifting (hopefully some day) I would not look to switch to the Republic, because of religious divide, or the fact I have bloodline from there.

I would be respectful of the country, that gave me the chance to represent them and always do so with pride.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Like Mo Farah ??...

But he's winning for GB so it's okay...

Hypocrisy alive and well it seems..

Hypocrisy from who? Farah chose to represent GB over Somalia despite originally having the option to choose either one. His hand wasn't forced, I can assure you. And I wonder how likely it is he'll try to make a u-turn in the next few years as Khan is trying now.

Khan's strategy just smacks of blatant opportunism what with the turbulent debate on pros in Rio already raging. 'I feel like boosting my profile in another country so might as well jump on this'

Lewis chose to represent Canada

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Lewis chose to represent Canada

Given that GB refused to pay for him to fly back from Canada to live and train yet Canada were prepared to fund him as he had no sponsors and the lottery funding our sportsmen benefit from didn't exist back then, it was and easy decision to make.

personally feel this is wrong on a number of levels

1. that pro's can actually fight against amateurs in what has always been the pinnacle of 'amateur' competition, i'm sure this will be covered in depth in the future so no need for me to go into it

2. that khan having fought against the best in the world thinks its acceptable to fight an amateur considering he has been that amateur and has had the same hopes and dreams

3. i get the whole dual citizenship and allegiances to two countries but surely once you've represented a country in a particular sport or whatever then thats where you've hung your hat, seems a bit ridiculous that you can represent two completely different countries in the olympics, if Khan had represented ireland previously and then chose to represent Pakistan i'd feel it was a snub to my country.

If the rules prevent someone who has previously represented another country then representing a different nation I agree 100% he should not be able to represent another country, if they don’t then I can’t see anything wrong. If it is a case of someone doing it out of blatant opportunism, because qualification for one nation is easier or to avoid an arduous qualification process I can see why that would not sit right. However think we’d all agree that is not the case with Khan, he is seeking to do this as he feels genuine ties with both countries and wants the opportunity to represent Pakistan and bring some glory to that nation, as his achievements did for the UK.

I personally don’t see it as disloyal to the UK. In winning the silver for the UK Khan increases the profile of amateur boxing in the UK, almost certainly was a driver behind the increased funding the sport receives now and subsequent to that has gone pro, paid what will almost certainly be a shedload in taxes, has opened a gym which affords others the opportunity to get into the sport and so on and so forth. Or to summarise in terms of a balance sheet he has paid back what he has taken out of both the country and the sport and then some. If the rules now afford him the opportunity to raise the profile of the sport in another country he has strong ties to then good luck to him as far as I’m concerned.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Like Mo Farah ??...

But he's winning for GB so it's okay...

Hypocrisy alive and well it seems..

Athlete one: Flees a country in civil war and chooses to represent his adopted home nation where he spent his entire life as an adult athlete. Represents one nation in competitive sport.

Athlete two: Wins a medal for his birth country and later on chooses to represents a country he's spent almost no time in based on nationality of parents.

You're a muppet.

When was the last time Khan was in the UK long enough to pay any tax?

Still think it's a convenient way of avoiding the issue of fighting Kell Brook and all this, "I'm putting back into the country of my parent's birth" is so much hogwash designed to obscure the fact.

Scottrf wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Like Mo Farah ??...

But he's winning for GB so it's okay...

Hypocrisy alive and well it seems..

Athlete one: Flees a country in civil war and chooses to represent his adopted home nation where he spent his entire life as an adult athlete. Represents one nation in competitive sport.

Athlete two: Wins a medal for his birth country and later on chooses to represents a country he's spent almost no time in based on nationality of parents.

You're a muppet.

Rowley argues with good points. At this rate, Truss would defend Khan of interfering with children, if he was that way inclined.

irishbrads wrote:personally feel this is wrong on a number of levels

1. that pro's can actually fight against amateurs in what has always been the pinnacle of 'amateur' competition, i'm sure this will be covered in depth in the future so no need for me to go into it

This is actually the most important point and which I was, naively, hoping would get some discussion!

TopHat24/7 wrote:

irishbrads wrote:personally feel this is wrong on a number of levels

1. that pro's can actually fight against amateurs in what has always been the pinnacle of 'amateur' competition, i'm sure this will be covered in depth in the future so no need for me to go into it

This is actually the most important point and which I was, naively, hoping would get some discussion!

Any world renowned rich pro, should have the decency to let the amateurs fight for the pinnacle of their sport. Especially those that have already competed as amateurs.

I'm pointing out the contradictions and driving a JCB through the pitiful arguments..

Try to keep up Adam !!

A bit more intellectually charged than "You're a muppet".

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:I'm pointing out the contradictions and driving a JCB through the pitiful arguments..

Try to keep up Adam !!

A bit more intellectually charged than "You're a muppet".

What you mean try and keep up? Your defending him to cause a stir and you know it.

Look it doesn't matter why Lewis fought for Canada..

Fact is he did !!!!!!

AdamT wrote:

Scottrf wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Like Mo Farah ??...

But he's winning for GB so it's okay...

Hypocrisy alive and well it seems..

Athlete one: Flees a country in civil war and chooses to represent his adopted home nation where he spent his entire life as an adult athlete. Represents one nation in competitive sport.

Athlete two: Wins a medal for his birth country and later on chooses to represents a country he's spent almost no time in based on nationality of parents.

You're a muppet.

Rowley argues with good points. At this rate, Truss would defend Khan of interfering with children, if he was that way inclined.

Who, Truss or Amir?

Anyway, going back to 1984, whilst only 13 at the time, I didn't agree with GB busting their butts to get Zola Budd UK Citizenship so she could run barefoot and deliberately trip Mary Decker (and from the front too, sneaky little f*cker). I didn't agree with the F.A's proposal to allow foreign player to be "naturalized" after five years and make them eligible to play for England (they were talking about letting Arteta play for us). Should I prove to be any good at anything (seems unlikely after all this time), you can bet your butt I'd be choosing to represent the UK and not Jamaica just cos my dad's from there.

And if he were to fight in another Olympics, he should represent Canada again. I think most would agree.

I don't see your point with Lewis.

Lewis represented the uk as a pro. If Khan comes out and represents Pakistan as a pro, then fair play to him. That is very different.

The case is unarguable..

Lewis was Brit born...fought for Canada and then represented Britain..

So there is the precedent....Argument over..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:The case is unarguable..

Lewis was Brit born...fought for Canada and then represented Britain..

So there is the precedent....Argument over..

He didn't represent them at the Olympics. It is different and you know it.

AdamT wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:

irishbrads wrote:personally feel this is wrong on a number of levels

1. that pro's can actually fight against amateurs in what has always been the pinnacle of 'amateur' competition, i'm sure this will be covered in depth in the future so no need for me to go into it

This is actually the most important point and which I was, naively, hoping would get some discussion!

Any world renowned rich pro, should have the decency to let the amateurs fight for the pinnacle of their sport. Especially those that have already competed as amateurs.

Problem is, you have the likes of Nadal, Federer, Murray, McIlroy etc playing tennis/golf at the Olympics. Also, whilst it's f*cking great watching someone like Usain Bolt compete, technically, isn't he a professional sprinter...as are most of the other athletes? Ban all the professionals and you have a bunch of people we've never heard of competing and how are they going to flog us all those Mars bars, energy drinks, insurance and broadband we can't live without...apparently.

AdamT wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:The case is unarguable..

Lewis was Brit born...fought for Canada and then represented Britain..

So there is the precedent....Argument over..

He didn't represent them at the Olympics. It is different and you know it.

It's even better as he won something for GB and gave back.

To be quite frank, I am not that bothered. I just hope if he does compete, I get to see the chicken dance again.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

AdamT wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:The case is unarguable..

Lewis was Brit born...fought for Canada and then represented Britain..

So there is the precedent....Argument over..

He didn't represent them at the Olympics. It is different and you know it.

It's even better as he won something for GB and gave back.

Was always meaning to ask you.

Did you have Khan up on points, before the Prescott stoppage?

No one is a bigger Khan critic than me...Think he should have fought Brook...I just think critics go over the top on him..

Anyway i'm happy for people to disagree...All about opinions....