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I really rate Oliver Harrison as a trainer. But khan seems to have improved so much more under roach. How far do people think khan would have gone under Harrison?

kamicazze wrote:I really rate Oliver Harrison as a trainer. But khan seems to have improved so much more under roach. How far do people think khan would have gone under Harrison?

I've met Oliver and he's a stand-up guy but he wasn't the right match for Khan at the time as he was already a great offensive fighter but needed someone to work out his technical faults with his defence which i don't think is Harrisons strong point but he got selected due in part to the closeness of Olivers gym to Bolton.

I'm not sure, but i think moving abroad to train (away from distractions) and being arround world champions helped as much or more than Roach himself. Also moving away gave him a 'fresh start' after his loss. The dietitian (Alex Ariza) will have had some impact and him just generally maturing.

Khan had so many factors working in his favour that its hard to tell. A 'change' was needed, but Roach is a class trainer with an exellent track record. Maybe Oliver Harrison could have done the exact same thing if rolls were reversed?

kamicazze wrote:How far do people think khan would have gone under Harrison?

Further than people credited him capable of right after the Prescott loss. I don't think he'd have travelled the same path, but that kind of natural talent would've seen him some distance no matter who was steering the ship.

Elite level sparring and the kind of environmental stimuli that a mecca for talent like the Wild Card brings, has to play at least as much a part of Khan's progression (if not more) than Roach has.

It's slightly damning that Khan's natural talent has proven to be of a high enough calibre to have allowed him to succeed in an environment like that.

If Khan's potential was in any doubt, he'd have had it knocked out of him fairly quickly and would've been in search of a plan C fairly sharpish. The promise he's now showing just illustrates how badly he was regressing under Harrison.

Bad fighter/trainer fit? Probably, looked like it for sure to me, and Khan is more the exception than rule as far as fighters at crossroads go. Even proven contenders and champions have regressed under some of the most respected trainers in the world, it just so happens one of them was a good fit for Khan, which only serves to magnify the poor fit he shared with Harrison.

I think Harrison doesn't have the tools that Roach does, primarily a gym full of excellent fighters who keep Khan on his toes during sparring, and the ability to give excellent advice in the ring. As has been pointed out ad infinitum, Khan's in-ring IQ isn't the sharpest strategy-wise (for all of his physical gifts) and it's learning under Roach that has given him the edge when in trouble. The Maidana fight would've been a lot more like the Prescott one were it not for that.

People forgetting that Khan had left Oliver well before he went and got KTFO ?

He was with a cube for that one.

JDC wrote:I'm not sure, but i think moving abroad to train (away from distractions) and being arround world champions helped as much or more than Roach himself. Also moving away gave him a 'fresh start' after his loss. The dietitian (Alex Ariza) will have had some impact and him just generally maturing.

Agree with this.

Although on saying that I don't believe he is now a defensive master, far from it.

G0mez wrote:People forgetting that Khan had left Oliver well before he went and got KTFO ?

He was with a cube for that one.

The Prescott fight was simply the catalyst, the warning signs were there long before the split. It's not as though Rubio undid the years of work Harrison had put in, in the space of a few months.

charlieb wrote:

G0mez wrote:People forgetting that Khan had left Oliver well before he went and got KTFO ?

He was with a cube for that one.

The Prescott fight was simply the catalyst, the warning signs were there long before the split. It's not as though Rubio undid the years of work Harrison had put in, in the space of a few months.

Im sure if khan had still been with oliver he would never have boxed prescot.I know the real reason why oliver was given the elbow.Lets not forget khan was unbeaten whilst under olivers wing(enough said).

G0mez wrote:People forgetting that Khan had left Oliver well before he went and got KTFO ?

He was with a cube for that one.

Right you are. I forgot about that little chapter

charlieb wrote:

G0mez wrote:People forgetting that Khan had left Oliver well before he went and got KTFO ?

He was with a cube for that one.

The Prescott fight was simply the catalyst, the warning signs were there long before the split. It's not as though Rubio undid the years of work Harrison had put in, in the space of a few months.

I dunno. As khan was gone in under a minute.

But, it was the Khan's cocky attitude and "we know what we are doing" approach that derailed himself. They obviously got the Cube for pennies as they thought they'd just do it themselves.

How wrong they were. Oliver never gave him that attitude problem, he simply lived with it until it got too much.