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.
Carlos Molina
Can Amir Khan reclimb to the summit?
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.
Khan’s new fighting style not much different than before
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.
Khan beats Molina, calls out Danny Garcia after fight
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.
Khan defeats Molina; Wilder, Angulo, Santa Cruz win
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.
Khan in make or break fight against Molina
By Marcus Richardson: Amir Khan (26-3, 18 KO’s) is limping into his fight tomorrow night against Carlos Molina still licking his wounds from his last two fights against Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia. Khan lost both of those fights and looked like a fighter that didn’t have the talent to fight at the top level. Khan has now dumped his trainer Freddie Roach and replaced him with Virgil Hunter. Khan thinks that Hunter can turn his career around, and lead him to another world title.
Khan doesn’t mind if he’s boring on Saturday against Molina
Khan said to thesun.co.uk “It’s all about minimum risk. I will beat up my opponent until they quit. I don’t have to go in there and knock them out. I do that I could start making mistakes and maybe get caught.”
It sounds like Khan is going to focus on throwing a lot of jabs and single power shots instead of the flashy combinations that he liked to throw in the past to try and KO his opponents and impress the crowds. That could work for him but Khan would still be presented with opponents that will walk through his guard to get in close enough to work him over in the same way that Lamont Peterson did.
That’s going to be a problem for Khan because he’ll either be forced to run, shove, hold or fight. We found out already that Khan can’t run for 12 rounds, so he won’t be able to use that for a long fight. Khan also can’t shove because most referees won’t put up with that and will warn Khan and then likely take points off.
Khan in comeback bout against Molina on Showtime this Saturday
Khan is pretty lucky that his promoters at Golden Boy still believe in him enough to put him in the main event on this card because losing back to back fights sometimes has a way of sending former champions to undercards instead of the top of the bill fights. However, if Khan loses this fight to you’ve to imagine that he’ll be demoted to undercard fights in the future until he proves he can beat good opposition.
Khan was knocked out in his last fight against WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia last July in a fight where Khan got lured into a war by Garcia’s father Angel Garcia, who angered Khan during their press conferences with his trash talking. Khan lost his temper and fought with anger and it cost him the fight when he was knocked down in the 3rd and twice more in the 4th round before the fight was halted.
Khan: I’m ready for Carlos Molina; I’m a better fighter now
Khan has a new trainer Virgil Hunter and he believes that he’s really improving under his guidance.
Khan said to Sky Sports News “I’m a better fighter [now] by far because I would not fight Garcia the way I did. I’ve changed my fighting style a lot and it proves I’m doing something right.”
It’s a normal response for fighters or people in general to look back at mistakes and want to do it different the next time around. However, that still doesn’t mean that Khan would get past a Garcia in a rematch because Garcia would make adjustments to Khan fighting in a more conservative manner by taking the fight to him with pressure and forcing him to fight for his life. That’s the problem.
Will Virgil Hunter make a difference for Amir Khan?
By Robert Jackson: After seeing Alfredo Angulo – following a 10 month respite from the ring, KO Raul Casarez Saturday night, it had me wondering how effective would Amir Khan be in his next fight. Both Angulo and Khan now train under Virgil Hunters watchful eye and if Angulo’s performance was any indication, Khan may have made the right choice and can be expected to perform excellently.
After the fight ended, Hunter was the first one in the ring to offer support to his charge, there was a genuine closeness between the 2 men that could be seen as both men embraced each other. Hunter remained at Angulo’s side keeping the emotional Angulo calm as El Perro answered post fight questions posed by Showtime’s Jim Gray.
What was as wonderful as the comraderie between Angulo and Hunter was the near flawless performance that Angulo put on that saw him quicker and stealthier in his boxing technique than in previous fights. Granted Casarez has a lot to learn as a fighter, he hadn’t lost in 5 years and is highly regarded as an up-and-coming middleweight. Angulo’s body also looked leaner than he’s looked before.