Not sure if it is a wise move.....Roach has the name and reputation and i don't for a minute doubt those credentials, but it seems for that reason alone fighters want to go to him, without considering the logistics..... .....Roach won't be there in the corner for this one, and as long as Manny is around he will always be top priority (not to mention others from Roach's stable)...... so Khan will really have to have 2 trainers for this fight at least.....and that rarely works well....... .....as much as anything else, it is a big PR move......blame the trainer, bring in the 'best trainer in the world' and assure the fans the problem has been solved and the kid is back on course for greatness......
dsimon writes: I am flabergasted.... Seriously flabbergasted. This kid is 21 years old!!!! My God! he needs desperately to get some serious direction. He needs to hang around the good gyms and peope like Toney and learn the craft. Actually if he hires Roach he would be around Toney. This kids future is serious business. I won't right him off at that age and if he has to fight bums another year or so, as long as he gets better, thats ok. Do you guys realize that he is still a kid? He is a teenager.
Khan is big business but a teenager he aint. My patience have all but evaporated for Amir and his entire set up.
He need to fight in the states if he is real serious about his career. There's nothing in the uk for him. Over her he can develop better as a fighter, find better sparring partners and all. He's a star in UK, so he will never do that.
Yep, the kid needs to decide whether he wants to be a boxer or not. I think he just decided affirmative. Won't help his chin, but may help his skills.
Was Roach in Toney's corner for the Rahman fight? I thought Toney was working with another trainer and no longer working out of Wildcard. Even if Toney is at Wildcard...getting stretched like that around a guy like Toney wouldn't be a confidence builder for Khan. Khan being around a guy like Pac is a good thing...will help develop work ethic. Won't help his chin, but he'll be better prepared and he'll get good work...solid sparring. We could be looking at another Ben Dunne...got plenty good gym work but ultimately headed back to Ireland for an easier go of things. Roach said he saw Dunner get KO'd and knocked down in the gym multiple times and wasn't surprised to hear Dunne got KO'd early. In the gym, Dunne would get hurt badly, but finish sparring okay. I suspect Khan will go the same route.
Great take on the chin. Khan does most things very well technically by the book--basic boxing 101, he just got his chin swept and it didn't hold up. I guess that Freddie is going to get him to loosen up more, to move around more and not be so upright and a bit stiff like the amateur European style is (or used to be) and to relax and not be so tight in there, much as he did with Manny. It's been done before as Eddie Futch and Yank Durham did with Frazier after the first Bonavena fight, and Futch did with Norton after the Garcia loss. Roach mentored under Futch, so we shall see.
The problem is...Khan isn't Frazier, Norton or Pacquiao. Either you do or don't have a chin. Terry Norris is a prime example. Skills lasted for days, chin barely lasted a few minutes. I've always said, I'm not concerned with young fighters getting hurt or dropped early in their careers. In fact, I think it's good depending on how they recover and respond. Khan had been down and hurt by smaller, lighter hitting guys. Outside of playing defense and not engaging, I don't see how Khan doesn't get stretched badly two or three more times. I'd hope Freddie allows Khan to watch Pac train, not spar with him. Manny could really kill the kids confidence.
Khan, and the whoever trains him, be it Roach, Rubio...whoever.....that speed, footwork and the accuracy of his punching is his strong point....exactly what he showed in Athens.....he's got to turn into a negative boxer in order to achieve - or get closer to - the level of success that he desires. His priority has got to be to avoid getting hit....cos we have seen what happens, and it has happened so many times already in his young career that it can't be disregarded.....they have to face that cold fact....and play to his strengths Khan's got the speed and footwork to make a lot of good fighters look like novices......i have doubts at the highest level that he'll be able to keep a good fighter off him long enough....but it is his best shot .....as for sparring with Manny....you know what, it is worth testing him at least.... Because the above tactics is exactly what Khan would be forced to employ......and it is great sparring for Manny because Khan is so quick.....
dsimon writes: Absolutely!! That is what it is about. Nobody comes in with the complete package, Sugar Ray was the last of those. And if they do come in with it all, then something else will happen, a personal problem for example... Please sing the following to the tune of "here comes peter cottontail." here comes Mike Tyson, perfect size for a heavyweight, with equal power in both hands..... :bangh: Damn if only there were no women!!! and no laws Mike would still be champ!:bangh:. The kid deserves a chance
where is it being reported that he's fighting on DLH-Pacquiao? According to the article, he's fighting on Dec 6, but it didn't say where. It also said that he'll need a head trainer for that fight, since Roach is committed to Pacquiao. That tells me that Khan WON'T be on the card.
According to "my" site, Khan's fighting in England on that same day, that he'll train w/ Roach for 6 weeks before crossing the pond in final preparation for 12/6. http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=16057
