Khan expects to win the Mayweather lottery or to get the congressional consolation prize, he believes he is entitled to fight the winner (or loser) of the May 2 mega fight. If it ends in a draw or develops into a sequel, he may watch both veterans retire before he gets his turn in the money shower. Khan recently neglected a lucrative offer to fight Kell Brook which fueled criticism and raised additional doubts. He will need a stay busy fight even if he acts like a boxing prima donna who can afford to get up from bed only for multi million contracts. Biding your time with a minimum threat opponent and saving face at the same time may not be so simple especially when 3 glaringly unavenged losses are pending further action.
Two of the culprits, Garcia and Peterson, just fought each other and Breidis Prescott lost an SD in the end of March. I would expect Prescott to make himself readily available if approached for a late May or early June fight with Khan. Prescott’s career might need a boost – he has two losses and one win since he moved up to welterweight. He was the first one to upset Amir Khan whose recent performances suggest he might be ready to avenge all three upsets. He did get better under Roach but he visibly improved since he hired his present coach Hunter. Sometimes you don’t need the best trainer as much as you need the right trainer who will make you his priority.
Amir Khan’s progress became obvious against Luis Colazzo and he was even better when he outpointed Devon Alexander. He has matured mentally and his fortes have been maximized while his deficiencies have been addressed and his style has been professionalized. His naive adventurous frivolities have been eradicated and replaced by down-to-earth tactics. To be more specific, I would look back at an article I wrote back in 2013 in which some of Khan’s bad habits were outlined with suggestions for improvement and I will reevaluate them:
“Change your footwork to an economical glide and plant your feet for at least one punch in a combo. Get off the toes for the solid shot and get back on them and evacuate the moment you are done.” – Done
“Forget the long risky flurries of four and more shots. „Shoe-shining“ takes up a lot of energy without doing too much damage.” – Checks out.
“Use no more than three punches in a combo and use one big shot (hook, cross, uppercut, swing, Nelson, straight right) in each combo.” – That is one of Amir’s most obvious improvements, although GGG is the only one today throwing Nelsons in earnest.
“Learn and maintain correct head position at all times. Changing from penguin to Mexican shrug would be a good idea. Shoulders are your chin’s best friends.” – Done
“Go in and go out of range equally fast. Staying in range will only activate the other guys instincts. Admiring your own work from up close already cost you dearly.” – Done
“Do not out-speed yourself; hitting the block meant for your jab with the right hand too won’t be scored. Vary your speed of attack.” – Not sure.
“Forget about short range, it bites harder than you can tolerate. Work on your defense instead. Move your head. Body movement is absent, find some agility in your waist, use your legs defensively. Learn to survive in-fighting – grab and hold briefly, tie him up and push/wrestle away. If Floyd does it, who are you to act tough? You don’t have the mindset, dexterity, strength, will, caution and survival instincts to fight on the inside.” – It seems Khan has gained some control over short range or at least has learned to survive it.
“Throw at least 5 strong body shots per round (separately, not all at once).” – His body punching played a major role against his last two opponents.
“When you slip, duck, side step or simply back away, try not only to escape the attack but try to stay within striking distance. Within your firing range, not his. If you think defense and offense are two separate things, you’ll get caught slipping in-between.” – This may not be for him, but at least his defense has become inseparable from his attack.
“Your best asset is your speed, but you manage to turn it against yourself. You turn speed into haste and in your anxiety you forgo the basics. That’s why they are called the basics, you go down without them.” – His basics are in place now and his speed works for him.
“You need functional speed. Prancing around and slapping half-heartedly quickly only tires you faster. Compromising technique and form will not save you time, it will save you impact and efficiency. If speed is not incorporated into solid skills, it turns into haste.” – A big improvement
“Speed is power only through technical discipline. Without the basics you have no skills.” – Done.
Khan is getting better not in the technical sense, he is getting wiser and more cunning in using ring generalship. His complacent speed displays and haste have turned into purposeful assaults and his speed has been employed as a destructive tool. His bout with Peterson was very close but he was stopped by Garcia and Prescott and he needs self-belief to face them again. I believe he has nothing to fear now especially if he sticks to sensible game plans.
