Can Amir Khan make it back to the top?

12/22/201212/21/2012 ESB

By Jacob Roberts: Last Saturday Amir Khan gained his first win for nearly 18 months with a TKO victory against overmatched Carlos Molina. It was a must win fight for Khan, who’s reputation was in tatters after successive defeats in the last year. Forced into a rebuilding process, he is now remoulding his style with the help of new trainer Virgil Hunter.

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Amir Khan signs deal with Showtime for three fights

09/14/201612/18/2012 ESB

khan4343 By Michael Collins: Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO’s) may not be with HBO anymore following his losses to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia, but he’s now signed on with Showtime for a three fight deal, which should take him through the end up next year.

A three fight deal is a nice safe number for Showtime because if things go to pieces with Khan in terms of him getting knocked out left and right then Showtime won’t be left with a lemon that nobody in the boxing world wants to see.

It’s likely that Khan won’t run into trouble for his first fight of his contract with Showtime because he’s being mentioned as possibly taking on Josesito Lopez in April. That’s a very winnable fight for Khan, because Lopez, as good as he is, he’s not really a puncher.

He’s just a guy with a lot of heart that likes to go to war with his opponents despite not being a huge puncher and not being all that fast either. Lopez would have likely lost to Victor Ortiz had Ortiz not quit on his stool after the 9th round.

Khan could end up fighting Danny Garcia in the middle of 2013. I honestly don’t believe that Golden Boy Promotions will make this fight, I really don’t. If they make that fight it’ll be like them putting another loss on Khan’s record because he’s really not ready to fight Garcia again.

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Don’t jump on the Amir Khan band wagon just yet

12/16/2012 ESB

003KhanvictoryIMG_5867 by Paul Strauss, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime: Yes, Khan looked impressive on Showtime against Carlos Molina last night at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. His hand and foot speed were there. But, they’ve always been there. Initially last night, there did seem to be one thing that was different. Khan seemed calmer and less herky-jerky. He walked and shuffled when out of range instead of hopping and running. But, Molina’s smaller stature, short arms and less than knockout power provided the opportunity for Khan to show off a bit.

The fact is Khan is still very hittable. The shorter Molina tagged him plenty of times, but unfortunately for Molina, he just doesn’t have true junior welterweight power. Khan’s people knew that when the match was made. As a result of that power deficiency, Khan was able to take risks, to stay in the pocket more often than he should have, and to show off with shoe-shine like displays without real risk of penalty.

The fact is Khan still drops his hands when attempting to rip off combinations. For example, when throwing his left, whether a jab or hook, his right glove is still too low, which allowed Molina to land several counter left hooks. Khan doesn’t get under the shot either.

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Khan injures both hands in win over Molina

12/17/201212/16/2012 ESB

By Bill Phanco: Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO’s) may have looked like he was enjoying himself in dominating an over-matched Carlos Molina (17-1, 7 KO’s) last Saturday night in bludgeoning him into a 10th round stoppage win, but Khan ended up fracturing both hands in doing so.

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Amir Khan successful in first fight with new trainer Virgil Hunter

09/15/201612/16/2012 Geoffrey Ciani

by Geoffrey Ciani, photos by Tom Casino / Showtime – Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KOs) ended a two fight losing streak when he impressively defeated an overmatched Carlos Molina (17-1-1, 7 KOs) last night in Los Angeles. This marked the first time Khan was paired up with new head trainer Virgil Hunter, who is best known for his long term working relationship with rising pound-for-pound superstar Andre Ward. The new team made a good impression in their first effort together, with Khan in complete control of the action that ultimately came to an end when Molina’s corner stopped the contest after the tenth.

Even though Khan and Hunter have only worked together eight weeks, Hunter already seemed to have a visible impact on Khan’s performance. Amir was very patient in the early going and was measured in his approach, especially when it came to attacking. Everything for Khan started with his jab, and this helped create openings where he could unleash short three and four punch combinations that possessed a nice blend of speed and precision. He would throw a short series of shots, reposition himself, throw another combination, and then calmly take a stroll to establish new perspective, resetting the action where he could resume controlling the range to his liking. As Showtime commentator Paulie Malignaggi noted, “There he goes again, Khan is taking a walk”. Amir was composed.

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Josesito Lopez likely next opponent for Amir Khan

12/17/201212/16/2012 ESB

By Brad Cronick: Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is talking about matching Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO’s) against Josesito Lopez (30-5, 18 KO’s) in his next fight in April, according to Lance Pugmire of LA Times. Khan, however, fractured both of his hands in beating Carlos Molina (17-1, 7 KO’s) by a 10th round TKO last Saturday night and that could be a problem for Khan. It depends on how well his injured hands heal. But Lopez will still likely be the next opponent for Khan.

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Can Amir Khan reclimb to the summit?

12/17/201212/16/2012 ESB

By Frank Walsh: Amir Khan’s career hung in the balance as he made his way to trade leather with fellow pugilist Carlos Molina. In truth this was set up as a winnable fight for Khan, against an undefeated fighter with flaws that played to Khan’s strengths.

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Khan’s new fighting style not much different than before

12/17/201212/16/2012 ESB

By Michael Collins: Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO’s) has been saying for weeks now how he’s going to be a completely different fighter now that he’s being trained by Virgil Hunter, and that he would fight smart and in a more conservative manner.

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Khan beats Molina, calls out Danny Garcia after fight

12/16/201212/16/2012 ESB

003KhanvictoryIMG_5867 By Steve Mabbot,Photos: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME – Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO’s) picked up the WBC Silver light welterweight strap tonight with a nice 10th round stoppage win over Carlos Molina (17-1, 7 KO’s) on Showtime television. After the fight an excited Khan said “I’m ready to fight Danny Garcia anytime, anyplace.”

It was Garcia that knocked Khan out last July in the 4th round. Khan hasn’t enjoyed the sting of the loss, as he said tonight “He [Garcia] got lucky. He caught me with a good shot.”

Khan doesn’t look ready to be fighting Garcia right now, because Molina was able to hit him frequently in the early rounds with left hooks and right hands. If Molina was three inches taller and had the power of Garcia, I have no doubts that Khan would have been knocked out again because Khan was leaving himself open a lot when throwing his flurries.

Khan did box more in the fight, but he was still throwing a lot of flurries in each round that would give someone like Garcia plenty of opportunities to knock him out again if Khan were to fight like that in a rematch with him.

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Khan defeats Molina; Wilder, Angulo, Santa Cruz win

12/16/201212/15/2012 ESB

khan56 khan56 By Michael Collins: Former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO’s) stopped a badly overmatched, undersized, and underpowered 5’6′ Carlos Molina (17-1, 7 KO’s) in the 10th round on Saturday night to win the vacant WBC Silver light welterweight title at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The fight was halted after the 10th by Molina’s corner.

Khan really dominated this fight with his size and speed, as he rarely gave the much shorter and weaker Molina opportunities to land his shots.

Khan’s promoter Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions seemed to stumble over his words when interviewed after the fight and asked if he’d be interested in matching Khan with WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia. Schaefer said that Garcia has a fight in February and that he plans on getting Khan back in the ring in April.

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