This weekend much will be at stake for WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan, who faces off with murderous puncher Marcos Maidana at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. It?s hard to think of many fighters with as much potential and star power as Khan and an impressive victory over his rugged Argentinean foe will seemingly set the table for a huge 2011.
Look backing a scant few years on Khan?s career, the British fighter must be commended for finding a way to rise from defeat and regain his confidence while also taking his skills to a new level. On September 6th, 2008 Khan suffered a disastrous knockout loss to Columbian puncher Breidis Prescott and in just 54 seconds he went from a can?t-miss superstar to a prospect with a shaky jaw.
<--- Slideshow: Exclusive images of the final Khan-Maidana press conference
One of the key reasons for Khan?s revival is his trainer Freddie Roach, one of the sport?s most renown trainers today. Speaking at the final Khan-Maidana press conference inside of the media room at the Mandalay Bay, Roach pointed to a few reasons why he was willing to take Amir under his wings following the lone defeat of his career.
?Well he?s a great athlete,? Roach would open up during our brief conversation. ?I knew that. I had worked with him before the Prescott fight at one time. I trained him for about three weeks and got him ready and then I put him in to spar with Pacquiao and I said ?Now we?re going to see if he really wants to be a fighter or not?.?
Roach and Khan began exclusively working with one another just weeks after the Lancashire fighter?s devastation at the hands of Prescott and the trainer claims his early sessions with Pacquiao were dead even. Roach figured that throwing Khan to the wolves would be a good way for him to get his confidence back and he was also pleased with how the young fighter adapted to life in Los Angeles at the Wild Card Boxing Club.
?It was great,? Roach continued. ?He gets along with everybody. It?s a friendly gym and of course him and Pacquiao get along great. When I stared running them together and putting them together it was great because he didn?t want to be outdone by Pacquiao. It was a race every morning and when they sparred it was like a cock fight. They both rose to that level and it was great.?
Roach revealed that Khan was killing himself to make weight at 135 pounds and the eventual move up north has seemed to be a true blessing, as Khan is 3-0 with 2 stoppages in the junior welterweight class while displaying great technique and power in his latest showcases. But more than anything, Roach noted that it was Khan?s temperament as a fighter that allowed him to fully bounce back.
?He went in there looking for a knockout and he got caught,? Roach says of the Prescott debacle. ?That happens when you start reaching for people. It?s a fundamental mistake he made. Some people, coming off knockouts, they are never the same and some people can absorb it and move on. Guys like Tommy Hearns and Roger Mayweather get knocked out and come back and knock you out the next fight. They understand the game.?
Khan is a fighter full of both charisma and eloquence, as evidenced by his parting words during today?s crowded presser. Lost in his ability is just how well he and Roach have been able to connect outside of the ropes just as much as inside of the ring.
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?He?s a great guy,? Roach said of Khan, who turned 24 years old yesterday. ?He?s a good guy to be around. I don?t get too close to my fighters because business is business. I don?t get too close because it could affect our relationship but we always joke around and so forth. He?s a great and funny kid. We both have sense of humors and it works out really well. When we worked the mitts the other day he hit me on the chin but we laughed through it. We have fun with what we do but we also work hard.?
Maidana introduced himself to American audiences with his upset TKO victory over talented southpaw Victor Ortiz last summer. The man nicknamed Chino has an iron will and some of the most explosive power seen in the sport. He will likely be pressing Khan all night in what figures to be a classic boxer vs. puncher type of bout.
While that figures to be a proposition full of much danger, Roach speaks calmly when breaking down the fight.
?Maidana has one-punch knockout power with the right hand and the thing is to stay away from the right hand,? he continued. ?The thing is to stay away from the right hand with Amir?s mobility. We can keep giving him angles outside of the right hand. The left hook isn?t terrible but not his biggest weapon. The thing is, he won?t be able to handle our speed. The game plan we have is pretty sound and I think we?ll knock Maidana out within six rounds.?
Roach fully believes that Khan is big and strong enough to rise to 147 pounds in the coming year, likely after one more fight at jr. welter. I asked him exactly why he feels Khan would be successful in that division and threw out the names of Andre Berto and Floyd Mayweather Jr. in an attempt to perk Roach?s curiosity.
?Because I?ve seen what he does with Pacquiao,? Roach fired back. ?The last time he sparred him in Manila, Manny got his ass kicked for four rounds. But again, the gym is the gym and a fight is a fight. I feel that he can contend with those guys because he has the speed and the work rate to beat those type of guys. I have two guys who can beat Mayweather at this time of my life. Amir Khan is one of them. Manny is the other.?
As for Pacquiao, he appears to have an April 16th date with Shane Mosley lined up at the MGM Grand although nothing is final as of yet. Roach plans on seeing his star fighter face to face here soon in yet another meaningful trip to the Philippines.
?I talked to him last night a little bit. We talked about different opponents. Saul Alvarez?s name has popped up and of course Berto?s name has popped up. When me and Bob [Arum] fly to Manila on Sunday we are going to go negotiate a deal and see what the best deal is so he can make the most money and the best fight for the fans.?
