Letter from Amir to his fans, and Oliver Harrison's View

[BAMBI]

copyright material removed by request

[BAMBI]

Ex-trainer hits out at Khan's new regime

Oliver Harrison has described his successor as Amir Khan's trainer, Jorge Rubio, as "a Cuban amateur" and said the boxer should consider linking up with Naseem Hamed's former trainer Brendan Ingle if he is to have any chance of rebuilding his career after his 54sec knockout against the Colombian Breidis Prescott.

Harrison, 47, was sacked as Khan's trainer after he had guided the 2004 Olympic silver medallist through his first 17 wins as a professional. The promoter allegedly's matchmaker, Dean Powell, then stood in to prepare Khan for his victory over Michael Gomez before Rubio, a former trainer of the Cuban national squad, was hired for the Prescott fight.

"I can't believe how Amir fought," said Harrison. "It was absolutely the wrong way to fight somebody who can bang. I can't believe they learned him to keep his hands up and just stand in front of a fighter like that. He tries to be macho but that's not Amir. He naturally has his hands low and slips and slides like Tommy Hearns. The Amir I know would have his guard in front of his face and slip and slide to avoid the punches. But the Cuban guy had him with his hands up just walking forward. Madness. Any half-decent fighter could have hit him."

Harrison was angered by quotes attributed to the Khan camp after he had been dismissed saying it had always been the plan to look for an overseas trainer. Last week Khan went further, saying Harrison had never properly shown him what he was doing wrong. But Harrison blames the interference of Khan's entourage, principally his father, Shah, and his business manager, Asif Vali, for creating an impossible working environment.

"All I ever wanted was Amir to myself," he said. "But they wanted him to do interviews, to open clubs. Now he's even been saying, 'I like the cameras, I want the cameras,' and slagging me off like I was an old girlfriend. Now they go and get a Cuban amateur trainer.

"Team Khan are amateurs. I was the only pro there and I was fighting an uphill battle. So when I saw him knocked out I was happy but sad. Happy because of what they have said about me but sad because I could have taken him to the top.

"If they had gone out and hired Floyd Mayweather or Buddy McGirt I might have felt a little better. But I think they brought in the cheapest person. And what does he do? He has Amir holding his hand up high like a German. Amir is a slick boxer, he could have boxed that guy's head off. Against a puncher, to fight like that ... I don't think so."

Although Khan intends to stand by Rubio and use him for his next contest, Harrison believes the Cuban should be dismissed and has urged Khan to consider bringing in Ingle and his son Dominic, who have been the brains behind outstanding Sheffield-based fighters including Hamed, the former world featherweight champion.

Rubio has returned to Miami and was unavailable for comment last night. But Vali insisted there were no regrets about the split with Harrison, saying: "Amir still wants Rubio to be his coach. Jorge is very upset and disappointed what happened because Amir did not have a chance to show everybody what he has learned. He wanted to prove something as a coach and it didn't happen, so naturally he is down.

"A lot of things were wrong and we will learn from it. Amir is going back to the drawing board. He's still a 21-year-old boy. Perhaps we didn't do our homework but he has to forget talking about the world title. It is about rebuilding now."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/se ... khan/print

[charlieb]

I want this kid to do well and I sincerely hope this is a genuine rebirth on the back of a painful epiphany.

The flaws in Khan were there from Harrison's days, if we're taking potshots at trainers, he's front and centre.

[Deserter]

Firstly, if that letter is genuinely from Amir himself rather than a PR 'ghost-writing' it, then his stock goes up in my opinion as it shows the humility that's been lacking in recent months, along with a commitment and desire to prove himself.
So many times over boxing history we've seen fighters 'brought down' by their entourage, most notably Naz in recent times, and while we can debate trainers etc, this is the crux of the matter for me - a relatively young and naive man has handed over crucial areas of decision-making to family and friends who have no experience, expertise or credibility in those areas. It's a recipe for disaster.

[Asterix]

Firstly, if that letter is genuinely from Amir himself rather than a PR 'ghost-writing' it, then his stock goes up in my opinion as it shows the humility that's been lacking in recent months, along with a commitment and desire to prove himself.
So many times over boxing history we've seen fighters 'brought down' by their entourage, most notably Naz in recent times, and while we can debate trainers etc, this is the crux of the matter for me - a relatively young and naive man has handed over crucial areas of decision-making to family and friends who have no experience, expertise or credibility in those areas. It's a recipe for disaster.

It isn't written brilliantly and has spelling mistakes, so it seems genuine. The previous posts made by the account have used some text message spelling, but that was a couple of years ago. I think it's Amir.

[Wales]

The flaws in Khan were there from Harrison's days, if we're taking potshots at trainers, he's front and centre.

Harrison would have had Amir take a look at his opponent and look to box, not sprint in form the opening bell. His worst two performances were against Gomez, and prescott.

[Minderbinder]

Firstly, if that letter is genuinely from Amir himself rather than a PR 'ghost-writing' it, then his stock goes up in my opinion as it shows the humility that's been lacking in recent months, along with a commitment and desire to prove himself.
So many times over boxing history we've seen fighters 'brought down' by their entourage, most notably Naz in recent times, and while we can debate trainers etc, this is the crux of the matter for me - a relatively young and naive man has handed over crucial areas of decision-making to family and friends who have no experience, expertise or credibility in those areas. It's a recipe for disaster.

Read Bambi's previous posts. No way is this genuine.

[Asterix]

Firstly, if that letter is genuinely from Amir himself rather than a PR 'ghost-writing' it, then his stock goes up in my opinion as it shows the humility that's been lacking in recent months, along with a commitment and desire to prove himself.
So many times over boxing history we've seen fighters 'brought down' by their entourage, most notably Naz in recent times, and while we can debate trainers etc, this is the crux of the matter for me - a relatively young and naive man has handed over crucial areas of decision-making to family and friends who have no experience, expertise or credibility in those areas. It's a recipe for disaster.

Read Bambi's previous posts. No way is this genuine.

BAMBI copied it from here: http://www.amirsfans.co.uk/forum/index. ... topic=8042

[Minderbinder]

Firstly, if that letter is genuinely from Amir himself rather than a PR 'ghost-writing' it, then his stock goes up in my opinion as it shows the humility that's been lacking in recent months, along with a commitment and desire to prove himself.
So many times over boxing history we've seen fighters 'brought down' by their entourage, most notably Naz in recent times, and while we can debate trainers etc, this is the crux of the matter for me - a relatively young and naive man has handed over crucial areas of decision-making to family and friends who have no experience, expertise or credibility in those areas. It's a recipe for disaster.

Read Bambi's previous posts. No way is this genuine.

BAMBI copied it from here: http://www.amirsfans.co.uk/forum/index. ... topic=8042

ok, so it is genuine

[BAMBI]

Its real!!

[charlieb]

The flaws in Khan were there from Harrison's days, if we're taking potshots at trainers, he's front and centre.

Harrison would have had Amir take a look at his opponent and look to box, not sprint in form the opening bell. His worst two performances were against Gomez, and prescott.

From what he's just said above, that was the 'intended' plan here, to box carefully for 4 rounds. Gomez was one of his finest performances in my eyes, he won every round barring the one in which he was put over, shortly after which, he blitzed Gomez with an astounding array of punches.

The more I think about it, the less pessimistic I am about saturday. I was of the opinion that Khan was finished and I revelled in Warren's misfortune, but I'm seeing and hearing signs that are ticking boxes, if we can agree that this kid has all of the talent, speed and power (yes, power) you could want ... this could be the same kind of wake up call that Haye got against Thompson.

As for Harrison, he should've kept quiet. Khan's openess to taking shots was there circa 2004. Chopping and changing trainers isn't going to bring an immediate fix.

Prescott might well be a little chinny himself, his frame, long neck and padded record certainly dont help a counter argument. If Khan saw the footage of him that the rest of us did then I'm sure he paid this guy zero respect and went for the big impression as opposed to careful treading.

Who's to say that 3 or 4 years from now that Khan cant be a complete fighter if he takes it slowly but progressively? He'll always be chinny, but then he'll always have that talent.

I definitely think he needs to jump up to 140 though. The waters are a helluva lot more shallow up there.

[Autobarn]

I have a lot of respect for Harrison and find his comments interesting. Most ppl on here are sympathetic to him, and it does seem he was hard done by when sacked, etc etc.

But was Harrison the right guy for Khan? Harrison seems to be very good at moulding gritty, aggressive fighters that are effective coming forward, throw correct shots and work the body a lot. Look at the best of the VIP lads. And look at Khan, the amateur stylist with fast feet, etc. It's just a totally different approach.

I always thought Harrison training Khan was maybe a bit like Johnny Lewis training Virgil Hill. Dare I say it (and I don't mind being wrong) mismatched? I very much liked Khan's performance vs Earl - he had that blend of poise and power - but Khan didn't look like that every fight.

With each trainer - Harrison, Powell and Rubio - Khan has been dropped. Khan needs someone that will keep him on his bike, IMO.

[Asterix]

The more I think about it, the less pessimistic I am about saturday. I was of the opinion that Khan was finished and I revelled in Warren's misfortune, but I'm seeing and hearing signs that are ticking boxes, if we can agree that this kid has all of the talent, speed and power (yes, power) you could want ... this could be the same kind of wake up call that Haye got against Thompson.

I would feel the same way if it wasn't for Khan's chin. He's always going to be vulnerable. That makes him hugely exciting to watch, but doesn't bode well for him against top boxers, no matter how hard they hit.
The comparison with Haye is a romanticised one. Haye's chin did not let him down against Thompson. It was his stamina and work rate. He has since worked on that.

[Wales]

He boxed well against gomez in that he beat up a fighter who is widely regarded by many as being finished. Gomez is a career superfeather who should be getting anywhere near Khan yet he dropped him and caught him with numerous shots during the six rounds. Khan boxed well, but shouldve shut gomez out completley, certainarly shouldnt have been dropped by him. I seem to remember a body shot really shaking Khan too. The astounding array of punches were aimed at a static target, lets not forget that.

You say Khan has "all the power you could want", well I disagree, he's not knocked anyone cold or even down as hard as he went on Saturday.

Khan openess for taking shots was there as an amateur, I agree with whoever sdaid the problem has been he's been head and shoulders above sparring partners and not really needed to concentrate on defence too much. I've seen Oliver working on Amirs defence in the gym, he worked on amir holding his hands low whilst out of range then ensured he had them right back up again as soon as he stepped in. If you watch amir adopts this in the St Clair fight.

It's all about how he bounces back, for me he was too arrogant in his approach and that shwoed in the fight. He had the same speil the next day too "world champion wihtin 12 months etc..."

I dunno, caring less and elss to be honest. he'll never be a "proper" world champion IMO, although im sure he'll be manouvered into position for a title in time. A waiting game until the title holder isnt a huge hitter.

[Asterix]

That body shot seriously hurt Khan.

[Deserter]

Gomez was one of his finest performances in my eyes, he won every round barring the one in which he was put over, shortly after which, he blitzed Gomez with an astounding array of punches.

The more I think about it, the less pessimistic I am about saturday. I was of the opinion that Khan was finished and I revelled in Warren's misfortune, but I'm seeing and hearing signs that are ticking boxes, if we can agree that this kid has all of the talent, speed and power (yes, power) you could want ... this could be the same kind of wake up call that Haye got against Thompson.

I thought he was shocking against Gomez - he turned what should have been a walk in the park against a smaller fighter who'd clearly seen better days into a life and death struggle. Khan's flurries were eye-catching due to their speed,but he didn't sit down on them properly and his shot selection was questionable as he was favouring speed over selection.
I was one of the posters on here saying not to write him off after that and also adding that his questionable chin might simply be down to weight-making difficulties, but I now concede I was wrong in terms of the latter.
A comparison with Haye is totally inaccurate for my money. Khan's increasingly resembling the next Errol Christie, not Haye.

[sweetscience]

Khan needs to draft 3 different sparring partners in who in turn (so fresh) attack, with him not throwing anything back

he needs to do this for about 500 rounds

its no good beating up all the local pros in sparring, his offence is good enough

[charlieb]

Gomez was one of his finest performances in my eyes, he won every round barring the one in which he was put over, shortly after which, he blitzed Gomez with an astounding array of punches.

The more I think about it, the less pessimistic I am about saturday. I was of the opinion that Khan was finished and I revelled in Warren's misfortune, but I'm seeing and hearing signs that are ticking boxes, if we can agree that this kid has all of the talent, speed and power (yes, power) you could want ... this could be the same kind of wake up call that Haye got against Thompson.

I thought he was shocking against Gomez - he turned what should have been a walk in the park against a smaller fighter who'd clearly seen better days into a life and death struggle. Khan's flurries were eye-catching due to their speed,but he didn't sit down on them properly and his shot selection was questionable as he was favouring speed over selection.
I was one of the posters on here saying not to write him off after that and also adding that his questionable chin might simply be down to weight-making difficulties, but I now concede I was wrong in terms of the latter.
A comparison with Haye is totally inaccurate for my money. Khan's increasingly resembling the next Errol Christie, not Haye.

Gomez fought his socks off and I'm a big believer in last hurrahs. If the carrot at the end of the stick is as big and juicy and as arguably exposed as Khan was (Limond, Drilzane, etc.) at the time, I dont for a second believe that Gomez wasn't as prepared and motivated as he possibly could be and you just have to watch the fight to see how well he fought, he had a plan and executed it as well as he possibly could.

However, dont let my positivity fool you, even if a man can overcome a bout of cancer to the point of it receding ... he still has the disease. I agree that his chin will always be there for the hitting, he's no Mayweather and he will get hit if he ever tackles a semi-competent opponent again.

Haye's just as chinny as Khan is, and people seem to forget just how badly he was criticised after the Mock and Thompson fights. There were people saying the same things then as there are now about Khan's fate.

[DavidPayne]

2I've had lots of messages from boxers including footballers"

Nice of Curtis to drop him a line.

[Asterix]

Haye's just as chinny as Khan is, and people seem to forget just how badly he was criticised after the Mock and Thompson fights. There were people saying the same things then as there are now about Khan's fate.

Has Haye been stunned by a jab?

[Goz]

Got no problem with Khan and I wish him well on his comeback.

However try and rip us off again by putting a massively unworthy fight on PPV and I hope you get flattened again.

[charlieb]

Haye's just as chinny as Khan is, and people seem to forget just how badly he was criticised after the Mock and Thompson fights. There were people saying the same things then as there are now about Khan's fate.

Has Haye been stunned by a jab?

No, but he's never fought someone who hits as hard as Prescott does (relatively speaking). He has, however, done the chicken dance against a blown-up super-middleweight, as well as being put on queer street by a Momeck right with little on it, I've watched Mormeck since his light-heavy days and he isn't a puncher. Starched by Jim Twite and if you believe half the sparring rumours that have done the rounds, he's been put over numerous times behind closed doors.

The shots that Khan got up from would have KO'd most top lightweights out there, who knows how hard Prescott hits. Perhaps if Haye had've fought the likes of Bell we'd have seen how well he could have coped with a real puncher, the only natural puncher he ever fought was a petrified Enzo.

Imagine if we had a prospect at middle who was getting the hype and criticism at the level Khan has and he suddenly went from fighting domestic has-beens and suddenly stepped in the ring with some guy nobody had ever heard of other than having a good KO ratio ... called Edison Miranda. Is it too much of a stretch to believe that Khan was in a situation where he knew nothing about a guy who may end up being a nightmare in his division?

I wish I could see how the fight would have gone if Khan had fear in his veins.

[mark thompson]

No, but he's never fought someone who hits as hard as Prescott does (relatively speaking). He has, however, done the chicken dance against a blown-up super-middleweight, as well as being put on queer street by a Momeck right with little on it, I've watched Mormeck since his light-heavy days and he isn't a puncher. Starched by Jim Twite and if you believe half the sparring rumours that have done the rounds, he's been put over numerous times behind closed doors.

We still don't really know how hard Prescott hits yet for you to be making comments like that, everybody already knew Khan had a glass chin and Prescott's record before Khan was full of nobodies, so until Prescott's next fight we will have to wait and see exactly what power Prescott has.

[charlieb]

No, but he's never fought someone who hits as hard as Prescott does (relatively speaking). He has, however, done the chicken dance against a blown-up super-middleweight, as well as being put on queer street by a Momeck right with little on it, I've watched Mormeck since his light-heavy days and he isn't a puncher. Starched by Jim Twite and if you believe half the sparring rumours that have done the rounds, he's been put over numerous times behind closed doors.

We still don't really know how hard Prescott hits yet for you to be making comments like that, everybody already knew Khan had a glass chin and Prescott's record before Khan was full of nobodies, so until Prescott's next fight we will have to wait and see exactly what power Prescott has.

I agree, but whether Prescott continues to impress or goes down as a hard punching one-hit wonder, the shots he hit Khan with were monstrous and beautifully picked. I genuinely dont think there's many (if any) who could have 'absorbed' those shots without effect, whether the top boys would have allowed him to land or not is a different argument. Time will tell if he had the skill to match the power.

He could be just another Kelson Pinto.

[mark thompson]

[quote="charlieb"][quote="mark thompson"]No, but he's never fought someone who hits as hard as Prescott does (relatively speaking). He has, however, done the chicken dance against a blown-up super-middleweight, as well as being put on queer street by a Momeck right with little on it, I've watched Mormeck since his light-heavy days and he isn't a puncher. Starched by Jim Twite and if you believe half the sparring rumours that have done the rounds, he's been put over numerous times behind closed doors.

Also whether you say Enzo froze on not, his punching power cannot be questioned but he couldn't get near to laying a glove on Haye, you cannot hit what is not in front of you and how can people keep writing Haye off before he actually fights a decent heavyweight ?