Lewis wrong to tip Khan and Froch to become 2012 boxing champs

Lennox Lewis has tipped both Amir Khan and Carl Froch to become world champions again at some point this year and it is 12/5 in the boxing odds that the pair have accomplished this feat by the end of May.

May threatens to be a big month in the boxing world with not only Khan and Froch challenging for world titles, but also Floyd Mayweather stepping up a weight class to take on Miguel Cotto in what looks another testing fight en route to Manny Pacquiao.

Khan certainly has a point to prove as he gets his anticipated rematch with Lamont Peterson after contentious scoring saw the Brit lose his WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles in December.

It is 1/4 that Khan makes amends in his rematch on May 19th and insists that he will dominate the return so that the end result is never in doubt.

Keeping the fight at distance will be imperative for Khan, given Peterson’s impressiveness at close quarters, talent when boxing on the inside and devastation of his body shots.

Khan will have to stick by his gameplan for the first fight in that moving for 12 rounds will be essential, but he must find ways of landing more shots.

It is hard to totally agree that referee Joe Cooper was solely to blame for the first outcome, even if he was slightly more lenient towards the tactics of his fellow American.

While Khan heads to Las Vegas, a week later, Froch will have home advantage as he attempts to win the IBF super-middleweight title from the unbeaten Lucian Bute in Nottingham.

Froch continues to mix with the big boys in the division, having taken on seven of the world’s best in his weight class across the last four years.

He was outclassed By Andre Ward in the Super Six final last time and this could be the reason why he is the 7/4 underdog to beat Bute, who should also be given credit for giving up a probable bigger payday in Canada to accept this defence.

However, Froch is liable to have his work cut out as he only really knows one style and his lack of creativity and footwork may find little joy against a fighter known for a strong defence and relatively quick feet.

Therefore, a price of just short of 5/1 that Froch and Khan are both beaten may be the better of the two bets, despite what Lewis believes.