BoxRec

Amir Khan helps plot Ricky Hatton's downfall
Amir Khan will head for sparring with Manny Pacquiao at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles and could be involved in the plot to bring down compatriot Ricky Hatton in the Las Vegas super-fight on May 2.


By Gareth A Davies
Last Updated: 6:41PM GMT 16 Mar 2009
Amir Khan helps plot Ricky Hatton's downfa
Appetite for destruction: Amir Khan is set to spar with Ricky Hatton's rival in LA Photo: PA

Less than an hour after beating Marco Antonio Barrera, Khan was planning the next phase in his development, which means training with Hatton's Filipino opponent, Pacquiao.

In Khan's eyes, there is no disloyalty. He has become firm friends with Pacquiao, and indeed, could end up facing either Pacquiao or Hatton in the ring in the next two years. Hatton versus Khan, once the 22-year-old has learnt more under Freddie Roach, could be an interesting prospect.

Related Articles

*
Khan will not rest on laurels
*
Khan v Barrera action
*
Khan stuns Barrera
*
Amir Khan pays respect to army heroes
*
Marco Antonio Barrera will fight dirty against Amir Khan, says trainer Freddie Roach
*
Amir Khan: I have a point to prove against Marco Antonio Barrera

"I want to help Manny because he's a good friend," Khan said after his five-round win over Barrera. "It's good to have someone like him for me to look up to. I spoke to him in the changing room straight after the fight. He watched it in America and is over the moon for me.

"The sparring would do me good as well. Manny helps me to learn so much, confidence-wise, when I just spar with him. If I can handle him and spar with him, I can handle anyone. It's going to take me on to the next level."

Roach insists Khan is perfect for Pacquiao to sharpen his tools. "Okay, he has a very different style to Hatton's, but I love using Amir because when Manny can handle his speed, then he's sharp. When you're sharp you can deal with anybody."

Hatton said at the fight the other night that khan and barerra are both good friends, if that is true, khan sparring pac to help him prepare for hatton could set up a good grudge match between hatton and khan, a lot of people will want to see khani get knocked on his ass for his disloyalty, it would sell a lot of tickets.

Sparring a guy with the intention of wanting to help him to beat a guy who is a fellow country man doesn't seem right even if it is a good freind you're helping, other than this khan seems like a ok guy.

What a utter load of testicles, nothing more than media spin.

Hagler2002 wrote:What a utter load of testicles, nothing more than media spin.

he wont even spar with pacman, they will only spar with hatton type fighters

khan is the complete oppersite

He needs to spar somebody with a chin D

banjo wrote:He needs to spar somebody with a chin D

hahahaha. yeah too right. with khan china chin.
i dont think khan would spar as much with pacman though as he needs big light welters to spar with. more like hattons boxing style type of boxers.

Well maybe they can use this to hype up an eventual Khan v Hatton. It'd be one of the biggest British fights ever. Obviously it'd have to happen if Khan comes up a bit in class and Hatton moves down / takes a beating or two. Khan has ability - if he can use that movement, speed, combos for 12 rds he'll go far - but you think maybe he needs another happy accident or bit of very clever matchmaking to get there.

As to Khan plotting Hatton's downfall. A bit dramatic considering Khan will be one of several sparring partners.

This is very good news for Khan. Instead of lording it up after The Big Win, it means he'll be straight back in the Wild Card. And the more time he spends there the better.

Khan sparring with Pac and being trained by Roach seems to be good for Khan, he wasn't learning much before hand.

Max Molyneux wrote:Khan sparring with Pac and being trained by Roach seems to be good for Khan, he wasn't learning much before hand.

We won't really know if he has learned anything under Roach until he gets in with a live opponent.

Hagler2002 wrote:

Max Molyneux wrote:Khan sparring with Pac and being trained by Roach seems to be good for Khan, he wasn't learning much before hand.

We won't really know if he has learned anything under Roach until he gets in with a live opponent.

He has obviously improved already.

Did you watch the Rogan and Barrera fights?

Although they were easy wins, it was clear in the way he boxed that his fundamentals have improved.

What you should have said is "we won't know if he has improved enough to beat a world class opponent until he faces a world class opponent."

Which I would agree with, but is, of course, self evident.

Also self evident, at least to anyone with functioning eyes who watched his last two fights, is that Khan has improved. You either accept that point, or concede that Rogan and Barrera were of a lower class than Gomez and St Clair.

Max Molyneux wrote:Khan sparring with Pac and being trained by Roach seems to be good for Khan, he wasn't learning much before hand.

so what are you trying to say .? Olly harrison a bad trainer ?.he manged to get Moore a Euro title.
yes its good for amir to have freddie but dont disrespect olly for what has done with khan either. it was not olly falut when amir was opening night clubs ,hanging out with mates when he should have been in the gym with olly training hard for a fight.

Eric t wrote:
Sparring a guy with the intention of wanting to help him to beat a guy who is a fellow country man doesn't seem right even if it is a good freind you're helping, other than this khan seems like a ok guy.

That's a load of crap. So because you are from the same country you have to stand side by side and put that before any other loyalties? I think the people in your own gym are who you have the loyalties towards, nationalities are irrelevant. Khan & Pacquiao have been training in the same gym for the last 2 fights now so it's only a natural continuation of that, you can't expect them to change the whole set up just because Pacquiao is fighting a Brit.

Boxing is an individual sport, you fight for yourself, not your country(unless it's the Amateurs obviously).

banjo wrote:Boxing is an individual sport, you fight for yourself, not your country(unless it's the Amateurs obviously).

BABY BLUE wrote:

Max Molyneux wrote:Khan sparring with Pac and being trained by Roach seems to be good for Khan, he wasn't learning much before hand.

so what are you trying to say .? Olly harrison a bad trainer ?.he manged to get Moore a Euro title.
yes its good for amir to have freddie but dont disrespect olly for what has done with khan either. it was not olly falut when amir was opening night clubs ,hanging out with mates when he should have been in the gym with olly training hard for a fight.

While Amir Khan is ultimately responsible for Amir Khan, Harrison should definitely cop some blame for Khans efforts pre-Prescott. Khan really showed very little improvement, beyond the change in physique, from his very first professional fight, through the fight with Prescott. His defence was nonexistent, the way he jumped in and flailed away chin raised – it was all pretty poor.

He has shown marked improvement under Roach.

Now, that’s not to say Prescott didn’t act as a wakeup call for Khan, and he didn’t work harder under Roach than he did under Harrison. And it certainly isn’t to say Oliver is a bad trainer, because he clearly isn’t and hugely improved Jamie Moore, for instance, but it still doesn’t reflect well on him.

After all, being a coach is all about being improve a fighter, and Harrison didn’t, really, with Khan, beyond a point.

Carbo wrote:

BABY BLUE wrote:

Max Molyneux wrote:Khan sparring with Pac and being trained by Roach seems to be good for Khan, he wasn't learning much before hand.

so what are you trying to say .? Olly harrison a bad trainer ?.he manged to get Moore a Euro title.
yes its good for amir to have freddie but dont disrespect olly for what has done with khan either. it was not olly falut when amir was opening night clubs ,hanging out with mates when he should have been in the gym with olly training hard for a fight.

While Amir Khan is ultimately responsible for Amir Khan, Harrison should definitely cop some blame for Khans efforts pre-Prescott. Khan really showed very little improvement, beyond the change in physique, from his very first professional fight, through the fight with Prescott. His defence was nonexistent, the way he jumped in and flailed away chin raised – it was all pretty poor.

He has shown marked improvement under Roach.

Now, that’s not to say Prescott didn’t act as a wakeup call for Khan, and he didn’t work harder under Roach than he did under Harrison. And it certainly isn’t to say Oliver is a bad trainer, because he clearly isn’t and hugely improved Jamie Moore, for instance, but it still doesn’t reflect well on him.

After all, being a coach is all about being improve a fighter, and Harrison didn’t, really, with Khan, beyond a point.

khan had his gloves up high when he fought prescott also he had that Rugby nutrasionist that dida terrible job. khan had no muscle on his legs. he was weight drained as well.im sure olly did not teach him that it was that cuban trainer. olly did his job .yeah i guess if amir does want go on to bigger fights then yeah i guess being with roach was right way to go. but olly did the best he could whilst training amir though. somtimes its the figther that should take the balme if he did not perform well in the ring . theres only so much a trainer can do to improve a boxer.

BABY BLUE wrote: khan had his gloves up high when he fought prescott also he had that Rugby nutrasionist that dida terrible job. khan had no muscle on his legs. he was weight drained as well.im sure olly did not teach him that it was that cuban trainer. olly did his job .yeah i guess if amir does want go on to bigger fights then yeah i guess being with roach was right way to go. but olly did the best he could whilst training amir though. somtimes its the figther that should take the balme if he did not perform well in the ring . theres only so much a trainer can do to improve a boxer.

Doing his best is admirable, but it doesn't shield him from criticism. You are absolutely wrong to charaterize Khan's defeat against Prescott as some kind of one off. It was not. Almost everyone on this board, myself included, made the point at various stages of his pre-Prescott career that the glaring holes in Khan's defense, coupled with his vulnerable chin, would lead to disaster. And it did.

How many times did Khan get tagged under Harrison? And how many times has it happened in his two fights under Roach? Are we saying that Rogan and Barrera are significantly worse opposition than Krisjanssen and Gomez? Because that's the only way for your argument that Khan has not improved and Harrison is not at fault to hold water.

Whatever anyone says about Khan, the fact remains that serious technical deficiencies were not corrected under Harrison, and that he appears to be a better boxer under Roach than under Harrison.

We must therefore conclude that Roach is able to improve Khan in ways that Harrison couldn't.

I'm not slagging Harrison off. He's done well for Moore and has a good reputation, but the Khan episode reflects badly on him.

Hatton would destroy Khan i dont think Pac can learn more about Hatton by sparring Khan

Carbo wrote:

BABY BLUE wrote: khan had his gloves up high when he fought prescott also he had that Rugby nutrasionist that dida terrible job. khan had no muscle on his legs. he was weight drained as well.im sure olly did not teach him that it was that cuban trainer. olly did his job .yeah i guess if amir does want go on to bigger fights then yeah i guess being with roach was right way to go. but olly did the best he could whilst training amir though. somtimes its the figther that should take the balme if he did not perform well in the ring . theres only so much a trainer can do to improve a boxer.

Doing his best is admirable, but it doesn't shield him from criticism. You are absolutely wrong to charaterize Khan's defeat against Prescott as some kind of one off. It was not. Almost everyone on this board, myself included, made the point at various stages of his pre-Prescott career that the glaring holes in Khan's defense, coupled with his vulnerable chin, would lead to disaster. And it did.

How many times did Khan get tagged under Harrison? And how many times has it happened in his two fights under Roach? Are we saying that Rogan and Barrera are significantly worse opposition than Krisjanssen and Gomez? Because that's the only way for your argument that Khan has not improved and Harrison is not at fault to hold water.

Whatever anyone says about Khan, the fact remains that serious technical deficiencies were not corrected under Harrison, and that he appears to be a better boxer under Roach than under Harrison.

We must therefore conclude that Roach is able to improve Khan in ways that Harrison couldn't.

I'm not slagging Harrison off. He's done well for Moore and has a good reputation, but the Khan episode reflects badly on him.

yes khan still has a problem with his chin .he will get exposed again. under Roach though. i guess harrison has done well with Moore .with khan thats his own falut for not taking anything on board to what olly taught him. khan was too busy opening kebab shops and night clubs ,hanging out with mates rather than training hard in the gym with olly at the time. i think khan did well against st'clair though. no its not all olly fault. its amirs falut as well. as olly stated he should have been at the gym training for his next figth . its also team khans fault as well. asking him to go on tv shows when cleary he should have been in the gym.

BABY BLUE wrote:

Carbo wrote:

BABY BLUE wrote: khan had his gloves up high when he fought prescott also he had that Rugby nutrasionist that dida terrible job. khan had no muscle on his legs. he was weight drained as well.im sure olly did not teach him that it was that cuban trainer. olly did his job .yeah i guess if amir does want go on to bigger fights then yeah i guess being with roach was right way to go. but olly did the best he could whilst training amir though. somtimes its the figther that should take the balme if he did not perform well in the ring . theres only so much a trainer can do to improve a boxer.

Doing his best is admirable, but it doesn't shield him from criticism. You are absolutely wrong to charaterize Khan's defeat against Prescott as some kind of one off. It was not. Almost everyone on this board, myself included, made the point at various stages of his pre-Prescott career that the glaring holes in Khan's defense, coupled with his vulnerable chin, would lead to disaster. And it did.

How many times did Khan get tagged under Harrison? And how many times has it happened in his two fights under Roach? Are we saying that Rogan and Barrera are significantly worse opposition than Krisjanssen and Gomez? Because that's the only way for your argument that Khan has not improved and Harrison is not at fault to hold water.

Whatever anyone says about Khan, the fact remains that serious technical deficiencies were not corrected under Harrison, and that he appears to be a better boxer under Roach than under Harrison.

We must therefore conclude that Roach is able to improve Khan in ways that Harrison couldn't.

I'm not slagging Harrison off. He's done well for Moore and has a good reputation, but the Khan episode reflects badly on him.

yes khan still has a problem with his chin .he will get exposed again. under Roach though. i guess harrison has done well with Moore .with khan thats his own falut for not taking anything on board to what olly taught him. khan was too busy opening kebab shops and night clubs ,hanging out with mates rather than training hard in the gym with olly at the time. i think khan did well against st'clair though. no its not all olly fault. its amirs falut as well. as olly stated he should have been at the gym training for his next figth . its also team khans fault as well. asking him to go on tv shows when cleary he should have been in the gym.

So are you saying that Harrison in incapable of instilling discipline in a fighter and/or is a poor motivator? Because that's what it sounds like to me.

On another matter, I believe you are deliberately disingenuous to try to paint Khan's problems pre-Roach as being down to his weak chin. He was clearly open to be hit, and was on numerous occasions before Roach took over. Defence was as much of a problem as the chin in Khan's case. Yet it didn't improve at all. Neither did his tendency to jump in and flail wildly as if trying to land something that would persuade three out of five judges to press the red button, rather than doing something meaningful.

I think half the problem is that everyone likes Harrison, and we don't want to criticise him. But being nice and trying his best doesn't mean he should escape criticism.

alexpaterson wrote:Hatton would destroy Khan i dont think Pac can learn more about Hatton by sparring Khan

As Roach said, Khan's speed will help get Pacquiao sharp. That's all. Then Pacquiao will be sparring this 147 lbs Armenian, whoever he is.

Khan would be better sevred looking after his own chin.

I think Khan is forgetting who he is for a minute here. Its all about Khan learning from Pacquiao, not the other way around! So Khan saying he will HELP Pacquiao beat Hatton is like another way of saying Manny will be learning from me in training camp on how to beat Ricky!

If Hatton beats Pacquiao, I wonder if Khan will be so eager to actually get in there with Ricky? Forget all the talk of helping others plot the downfall of another fighter. Get in there yourself & do it!

What's important is that Khan is getting straight back in the gym. He's not spending time here poncing about in fast cars and with hangers on, he's back in the Wild Card working. And every second he shares in a ring with Manny Paquiao with Freddy Roach, he will improve.