LOS ANGELES ? Amir Khan couldn?t have imagined it at the time but he said his first-round knockout loss to Breidis Prescott in 2008 was the best thing that could?ve happened to him.
Had he beaten Prescott, he probably would?ve remained in England -? with his old trainers and his old habits — rather than go to the United States to work with trainer Freddie Roach and fitness coach Alex Ariza.
The gifted former Olympian probably would?ve been a fine fighter but possibly not the force into which he seems to be evolving under Roach.
?If that didn?t happen, I don?t think I?d be in this position ? in a big fight as a world champion,? said Khan, speaking at a news conference to promote his fight against Marcos Maidana on Dec. 11 in Las Vegas.
?Things happen for a reason. I want to thank Prescott for that.?
Khan (23-1, 17 knockouts) has been dismissed by some as having a weak chin, the result of a perfect left hook from which he never recovered.
Prescott put his semi-conscious prey down two times, the second time for good in one of the more-stunning upsets in recent years given Khan?s pedigree.
Khan accepts the setback as a learning experience but rejects the notion that he can?t take a punch.
?Definitely not,? he said. ?? I?m sparring with guys who weigh 154 pounds and no one has ever touched me. The only time I had problems was when I was killing myself to make 135 pounds. When you kill yourself to make weight, it does make you quite vulnerable. When I spar at my natural weight, which is 145 pounds walking around, I?m OK. No one can touch me. You can ask Freddie. I sparred with Manny. He hit me with his best shot and didn?t drop me. He didn?t even wobble me. And that?s Manny Pacquiao, one of the best fighters pound-for-pound in the world and one of the biggest punchers in his division.
?Let [people] think that. If Marcos Maidana thinks that, he has a shock coming on Dec. 11. When he hits me with everything he has and I?m still there in front of him, we?ll see ho
