Khan: capable of change?

I've heard rumblings that they have been working on Khan's left jab in camp but heard nothing about how they are going to help him protect his chin.

Wayne McCullough
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Olympic silver medalist Amir Khan was hailed as the next big star in Britain when he made his pro debut back in July 2005.

Up until his most recent fight, Khan was undefeated but then he faced Columbian Breidis Prescott and the walls came crashing down. In less than a minute Khan got knocked out.

Many things have been said about the choice of opponent for Khan that night and his team not having seen fight tapes but the truth is that his chin let him down.

Khan had been hurt in a previous fight against light punching Willie Limond and put down in another fight against Michael Gomez - he barely hit Khan with a left hook to the head and he ended up on the canvas. He got up to win both fights showing guts and heart but in the Prescott fight he got hit clean and was counted out.

Typically after a loss everyone is blamed except the fighter. This didn't happen in my career when I had Eddie Futch in my corner. We fought as a team and won or lost as a team.

Vulnerability

But in Khan's case, in classic fighter fashion, he too changed his team. A former trainer of mine, Freddie Roach was brought in as new head coach but it remains to be seen if Khan has been able to learn enough to show change.

Khan always had fast hand and good combinations, that won him fights, but his chin was constantly in the air. I've heard rumblings that they have been working on his left jab in camp - I thought he already had a good one - but heard nothing about how they are going to help him protect his chin.

Eddie Futch taught me ways to take the impact off a shot but even though Freddie is a disciple of Eddie he doesn't teach the same techniques or the same training methods.

Pain no barrier

Oisin Fagan is a rugged Irish kid with a 22-5 record. He has been stopped only once in his career, not by punches but by a loss of blood stemming from a broken nose and cheekbone caused by a headbutt during the bout. This shows me how tough he is to continue to fight through such pain.

Fagan lost a close fight to Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr in February 2004. I was at the fight and thought he deserved at least a draw. He also fought former lightweight champion Paul Spadafora in March 2007 losing a highly disputed split decision.

This former soccer player who based himself in the US is a strong little man. I trained him for a week several years ago. He listens well and displayed great fitness and much improvement in that short period of time.

Khan will be gun-shy. His new trainer will not be in his corner come fight night because he'll be in Las Vegas working the corner for Manny Pacquiao. He needs to prove he can be the star he was supposed to be. He must win so the pressure is on.

There are things Fagan can do to win this fight and I believe he already knows that they are. Fagan is coming to win and I think the time is right.

Pocket filler

Across the pond in my hometown of Las Vegas this weekend is the "Dream Match" between Oscar de la Hoya and Manny Pacquiao. What a title!

Who determined that this was a dream match?

De la Hoya should have been fighting Miguel Cotto's conqueror Antonio Margarito or Paul Williams at welterweight and Pacquiao should have been fighting Juan Manuel Marquez or Nate Campbell at lightweight.

There is enough talent in their respective weight classes to put on good competitive fights. A more appropriate title for this match up could have been "Dream Pocket Filler for Christmas".

I think De la Hoya will knock Pacquiao out with a left hook. Pacquiao, a southpaw, jumps in leaving his chin up in the air and his right hand low. De la Hoya has a solid quick left hook and this is a punch southpaws get hit with.

If De la Hoya is able to land his left hook my opinion is that he will close the show. If Pacquiao's work rate or punch power gets to De la Hoya then it will show how far the Golden Boy has slipped.

On paper De la Hoya should win but Pacquiao is the younger guy moving up with no weight worries and he will be confident.

There's also the possibility of a second fight - or trilogy - for this "Dream Con" I mean "Dream Match" bout because this is boxing and anything can happen!