The last time we saw Amir khan in the ring,he was getting sent to the deck by Danny Garcia's left hand.It was a shocking defeat,not only to the fans but also too khan himself,having dominated earlier on in the fight he was caught,and that was that.Things had to change,and they did.With hopes of improving his defence and becoming a smarter fighter,he left the wildcard gym and long time trainer Freddie roach,and teamed up with Virgil hunter.And so began the long climb back to the top,with a new trainer beside him,and fresh vigour.His first challenge was on Saturday night in LA,against an undefeated newcomer in Carlos Molina,for the vacant WBC silver light welterweight belt.
Carlos Molina coming into this fight held a record of 17 fights,0 defeats,but apart from that,not much was known of this Mexican american fighter.This was a fight that could change his life if he managed to defeat khan.
Khan,coming off 2 defeats still held a stellar record of 27 wins 3 losses and 18 ko's. We all knew about the blinding speed and quickness of khan that had made him such an entertaining fighter in the ring,but his chin had come under suspicion after the loss to Garcia.Even still ,looking at his resume,he'd gone toe to toe with some of the best in the world,fighters like maidana,judah and malignaggi to name a few.
As round 1 begun,it was clear that khan had not lost any of his speed,he was landing shots at will,not always clean,but he was landing.As the rounds went by,khan was still showing glimpses of his old self,leaving himself open at times to Molina,especially in the 2nd when he caught by a right hook from Molina,a punch that a better fighter might have punished him with.Round 4 Molina withstood a barrage of shots from khan,who it seemed,had found some type of composure and was much more clinical and measured now.But still Molina, to his credit ate the punches and survived,although his face were showing signs of the punishment being dealt by khan.Rounds 5-9 went by,and khan at this point was picking his shots a lot better,there wasn't any panic and he wasn't making the fight a brawl,he used his speed to hit Molina with short combos,and then wait for his next opportunity to land.Molina still came forward,his reach was making it hard for him,but he did not show any signs of giving up,which we have become accustomed to from Mexican boxers.As the 10th came around,khan wasn't taking any risks,he was working well behind his jab,has he had done throughout the fight.Molina at this point was out on his feet,and the damage he had sustained throughout the fight was taking it's toll,and a cut he suffered earlier was worseing.Once the 10th ended,molina's corner decided to stop the fight and awarded what in the end was a straight forward victory for khan.
This fight wasn't a classic,but it wasn't suppose to be.The gulf in class was apparent, Molina to his credit stuck in,and i admire that.Khan,well he did what he had to,nothing more,nothing less.There were signs of improvement,there was much more thinking,and picking of his shots,rather than going toe to toe,but there were still lapses,which a better fighter,such as Garcia would have capitalised on,so there is still some learning to be done,which will take time.What worried me slightly was that, Molina is a fighter who came up from a lower weight,yet he still withstood khans punches.
All in all though this was a step in the right direction for khan and his career,he can now look ahead to a rematch with Danny Garcia which lurks on the horizon.
Thoughts?
Spoilers!!Khan vs Molina post fight!!
posted on 17/12/12
The Petersen fight and the Maidana fight showed that at times Khan could be broken down physically. The Garcia fight showed the same when he started rattling Khan with body shots, before that hook nailed him.
Khan has great speed and natural talent, but defensively he isn't great. When fighters have tested his chin in a tiring fight he goes down. He just isn't durable to beat the elite. to do that Hunter will have to completely change his stance, his mindset and his defence.
He can become a champion again and I think he would beat Garcia if he fought a smarter fight, which I think he would. After that, against a strong fighter, who can time their punches and takes him into the trenches, he's a punch away from another loss.
posted on 17/12/12
Khan was stil getting hit with shots against Molina. There were no major improvements to his game. This wasnt a tune up fight for him. It was worse than a tune up. Someone with better punching power would have knocked out Khan . Yeah he has hand speed. That's about it. No punching power or accuracy at all. Stil had the same old hit miss ratio to his combinations. Throw 10 punches and land only one.
posted on 17/12/12
If you get in the shower you are going to get wet, if you get in a boxing ring you are going to get hit.
Molina's success was minimal, whilst Khan landed a lot.
If you don't see the improvements from the Garcia fight, you were not paying attention.
posted on 17/12/12
D4
Wouldnt you want to wait until Khan faces a better opponent before you say for definite that Khan has improved? He's had 5 coaches in 8 years I think? Why the need to keep changing coaches if he's such a great fighter. He's got hand speed but that's about it. He couldnt even rock a blown up lightweight with all his punches. There's no point of having all that hand speed and combination punching when all it takes is one punch to knock you down and for all the punches that Khan threw at Molina, Molina was stil catching him with some of his own punches too. Only difference is, Molina definitely did not have the power to knock him down. Fair enough he beat Molina but lets not go overboard and say this was an improved Khan. Same old for me.
posted on 17/12/12
Any improvements that were seen, could you not have put that down to the level of opponent he was facing?
posted on 17/12/12
No, against Garcia, he was chasing the KO, he would land his shots and stand there to land more but get caught with Garcia's shots.
He also went tot he ropes, as he did with Peterston, instead of using his lateral movement and dominate from the centre as with Molina
He slips punches better and chucked in a few rolls, also he was focused throughout and stayed disciplined.
Those are the improvements.
posted on 17/12/12
He was obviously gna stay more disciplined. This was a last chance saloon for Khan, and up against a smaller opponent with little punching power and less reach than him, he was always going to dominate him. As I said, any improvments, I'd put down that down to facing a lesser level of opponent than Khan actually improving. We've been here before. Had so many false dawns with Khan. He bangs on about being improved, he's a better fighter now. That's all bull imo.
posted on 17/12/12
gotta say...he did keep his discipline better...didn't adopt his usual...
i've landed a few here...this guys gotta go......
gotta say...improvement or not...i am impressed with this new trainer...
posted on 17/12/12
Cannot judge him on one fight, the guy he fought was durable but lacked any real power, if he gets a rematch with Garcia as is being suggested will be the real test, i can see Garcia taking his time in a rematch, he knows Khan will be wary and more cautious under VH guidance so he will prbably wit for the perfect counter opportunity, only when a fight like this happens will we really know.
I think it was fairly obvious that Khan could of stopped Molina but was holding back under instructions and taking his time, this shows that he is listening to VH and trying to change.
posted on 18/12/12
Khan tasted punches but did not taste power. He looked good yes, but he looked vulnerable at times as well. He still has lots of work to do with his defense imho - he left himself open quite a lot despite his speed and more tactical approach