Can Virgil Hunter help Khan’s return?

Can Virgil Hunter help Khan's return? by Robert Jackson: News Flash – Amir Khan has left the Freddie Roach camp and now trains under Andre Wards’ trainer Virgil Hunter. Also part of the Hunter camp are fighters Mike Dallas Jr, and Alfredo Angulo – both of whom turned to Hunter after ‘falling hard’ under their previous trainers. Last time we saw Khan in the ring he was getting KO’d by WBC 140lb Champion Danny Garcia. During that fight Khan abandoned his boxing pedigree showing a lot of heart to engage in an exciting street fight, to his own disadvantage.

Also during that fight Freddie Roach was unable to get Khan to follow the game plan and was unable to tell Khan anything in the corner that Khan would obey. Instead Khan threw caution to the wind and engaged in the type of battle that gave Garcia the advantage. After that loss Khan’s team approached Roach with new terms which included making Khan his TOP priority demoting other Roach fighters including Manny Pacquiao to lower priority to make Khan the TOP dog. To this Roach refused.

Khan vs. Molina fight to be televised on Showtime

Khan vs. Molina fight to be televised on Showtime By Michael Collins: Showtime reportedly has bought the Amir Khan vs. Carlos Molina fight to televise on their network on December, according to Steve Kim of Maxboxing.com. The Khan-Molina fight could also have unbeaten heavyweight prospect Deontay Wilder fighting on the undercard against an unknown opponent. Molina, 5’6″, is a lightweight contender and would be moving up in weight to face the bigger, faster and stronger Khan. Presumably, the Khan-Molina fight was offered to HBO first but it doesn’t appear there was much interest from them.

A Khan vs. Molina would have been an okay fight for Khan to take earlier in his career but it does seem a tad out of place to be taking place now that he’s a former two-time world champion. There’s also the question about whether a Khan-Molina fight is worthy of being a main event for Showtime. I think it would be an okay ESPN2 level main event but not for Showtime. You’d expect a lot better than this given the size, power and talent differences between Khan and his smaller opponent Molina.

It’s been two years since Molina scored a knockout, which tells you a lot about his power or lack thereof. Molina has been facing little more than B and C level opposition and yet he’s not able to even knock them out.

Khan: I could have chosen an easy opponent for December 15th

Khan: I could have chosen an easy opponent for December 15th By Michael Collins: Amir Khan considers his next opponent the light hitting #10 WBO lightweight contender Carlos Molina (17-0, 7 KO’s) a tough opponent rather than just a soft touch which is what the 26-year-old Molina surely appears to be. No one would blame Khan for taking a light touch at this point in his career because he’s beaten in his last two fights against Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia, although Khan feels he deserved the win in the Peterson fight. The judges obviously felt different after watching Khan shove Peterson around the ring for 12 rounds.

Khan said to the Dailystar.co.uk “I could have picked an easy fight but I’m going to have a tough one next because I want to bring the world titles back to Britain.”

A tough one? As far as I can tell, Molina has never fought contender before and is woefully inexperienced against high caliber opposition. Besides that, he’s a lightweight, not a light welterweight. Khan is really a big light welterweight, more of a welterweight fighting against light welterweights. So in choosing a lightweight to fight, Khan is facing a guy is much smaller than him in weigh, height, reach and body frame.

Khan: I know I can get back to the top with Virgil Hunter as my trainer

Khan: I know I can get back to the top with Virgil Hunter as my trainer By Michael Collins: Former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan is convinced that his new trainer Virgil Hunter can turn his sinking career around and bring it back to where it briefly was while Khan was being trained by the well respected Freddie Roach from 2009 to 2012. Khan started out well with Roach, winning his first six fights before things started to turn rotten for him with two losses to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia.

Khan said “With Virgil in my corner, I know that I can get back to the very top of the light welterweight division.”

I somehow remember Khan saying pretty much the same thing when he hired Freddie Roach as his trainer not long after Khan was starched by Breidis Prescott. Roach was seen as his savior and indeed he helped Khan’s career by getting him through some decent opponents and through his toughest fight of his career against Marcos Maidana. However, Khan remained pretty much the same fighter he had been with other trainers.

Khan and McCloskey in talks for rematch in December

Khan and McCloskey in talks for rematch in December By Michael Collins: To show you how far down Amir Khan’s once promising career has plummeted, he’s now looking to go over old ground by taking on a domestic level fighter in 33-year-old Paul McCloskey (24-2, 12 KO’s) in a rematch in December. McCloskey, at one time a contender in the light welterweight division, he’s lost two out of his last four fights [three if you count his gift decision over Breidis Prescott].

In an interview with the BBC Sport, McCloskey’s manager Francie McNichol said “Both parties are serious. The dates being mentioned are 8 or 15, December in Manchester…I would expect that something will be decided in the next week.”

There’s a couple of ways to look at it. One, Khan you could possibly see it as Khan giving up on being a world class fighter and just focusing on facing domestic level opposition in the UK to collect easy paydays to milk his still very high popularity over there.

Amir Khan could face Diego Chaves next

Amir Khan could face Diego Chaves next By Marcus Richardson: Amir Khan could fight undefeated WBA interim welterweight champion Diego Chaves (22-0, 18 KO’s) next on December 15th. In an interview at Ole.com, Chaves said that he’d been contacted by Khan’s people about a fight with him. Chaves doesn’t know how much he’d be getting and when the fight would take place if he agreed to take the fight. He’s just thinking it over to decide whether he wants to take the fight.

Chaves would undoubtedly be asked to move down to 140 to take the fight with Khan, because Khan has made it clear that he doesn’t plan on moving up in weight right now and who can blame him. Khan has lost his last two fights and his career is on the brink of being finished. Chaves is a risky fight for Khan, because this guy can punch and is in the same class as former Khan conquerors Breidis Prescott and Danny Garcia in terms of power.

The fact that Chaves is being asked to take the fight seems to suggest that Khan’s promoters at Golden Boy Promotions need to find a guy with a good record and some ability before HBO will agree to take him for Khan’s next fight in December.

Ricky Hatton wants Mayweather, Pacquiao, Khan and Brook

Ricky Hatton wants Mayweather, Pacquiao, Khan and Brook By Michael Collins: Ricky Hatton (45-2, 32 KO’s) is like a big kid in a candy store now that he’s decided to make a comeback on November 24th against who knows what kind of opponent. Hatton, 33, will be fighting in Manchester, England on the 24th of November and his opponent will probably be a soft touch brought in for him to shake off the ring rust from three years of inactivity huge weight gain. Hatton says he’s interested in facing Amir Khan, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao and Kell Brook. That’s a pretty impressive list I must say, but I don’t know that Hatton’s chances are good at beating any of them.

Even a fragile chinned Khan or the stamina plagued Brook could be enough to trip Hatton up before he’s had the chance to make the really cash in fights against Mayweather and/or Pacquiao. If Hatton is serious about wanting Mayweather or Pacquiao, he’s going to need to skip the Khan and Brook fights and go straight to Mayweather or Pacquiao. Those guys are getting older and it’s doubtful they’ll be hanging around too much longer.

Hatton told the Manchester Evening News “I’d love to get a crack at them [Khan and Brook]. I dream about another go at Mayweather and Pacquiao, without a doubt. The ultimate goal is to redeem myself.”

Khan dumps Roach, Virgil Hunter a leading candidate to replace him

Khan dumps Roach, Virgil Hunter a leading candidate to replace him By Michael Collins: Well, Amir Khan has finally pulled the trigger and dumped his trainer Freddie Roach after suffering back to back losses in his last two fight. You had to figure someone was going to end up a casualty after Khan’s latest failing and unfortunately for Roach it’s him that’s being dismissed. According to Dan Rafael, Virgil Hunter, the trainer for WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward, is a leading candidate to get the job.

Khan said on his twitter yesterday: “Officially I’ve left Freddie Roach. Just spoke to him and had a good professional chat and maybe in the future we (will) work together. Freddie understood why I’m looking at other trainers and wished me all the best for the future.”

It’s somewhat surprising that Roach is being released from his position because he helped Khan capture two world titles at light welterweight. It’s hard to blame Roach for Khan’s loss to Lamont Peterson, a fight in which Khan could have won had he not shoved Peterson so often. Khan had warnings from the referee to stop shoving but he continued to do it and ultimately it cost him two points in deductions.

Roach: Khan should be kept away from punchers

Roach: Khan should be kept away from punchers By Michael Collins: Freddie Roach hasn’t been officially let go in his job as a trainer for former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (26-3, 18 KO’s), but it’s expected that Khan will be making an announcement any day now about a new trainer to guide him through his next training camp for his upcoming December 15th fight date.

According to Dan Rafael, Khan’s adviser Asif Vali and father Shah Khan asked Roach to dump his popular fighters Manny Pacquiao and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. This was reportedly something that was needed in order for Khan to stay with Roach, as he wants more time with him and the other popular fighters sometimes get in the way.

Roach said this according to Rafael at ESPN “I thought it was unusual that they [Vali and Shah Khan] they would ask and I left it as: ‘Let me think about it.’ Manny is my guy and I’m not going to leave him. I’m not going to leave Chavez Jr.”

Amir Khan: Has The King Lost His Crown?

Amir Khan: Has The King Lost His Crown? By Mark Klimaszewski – Olympic-silver medallist. Former two-time world champion. Former unified world champion. Arguably a top 15 / top 20 pound-for-pounder (depending on who you ask, of course).

Several “fight-of-the-year” type battles (and some solid names) on his resume. A consistent desire to fight the best. A warrior’s heart. A glaring vulnerability (the much derided ‘punch resistance’, or lack of, that arm chair critics are always so quick to point to) which makes him exciting to watch. Seldom in a dull fight.

On paper, Amir “King” Khan sounds like the type of fighter who should receive unprecedented adulation from fight fans. Yet he attracts more hate than almost any other active fighter today. It is a surprising fact; but a true one. Many people who I speak with about the sweet science all share a desire to see Khan get knocked out again. Many fans on internet message boards and what have you, wish nothing more than to see Amir taste bitter defeat once again and leave the sport for good!