Amir Khan “You will see a different Amir Khan with a different style” talks difficulties in transition with Virgil Hunter

by Mick Akers

Former junior welterweight title holder Amir Khan was on the brink of being a serious candidate for one of the biggest draws in the sport today, namely Floyd Mayweather Jr., before his shocking knockout loss to Danny Garcia this past July.

Eager to get back to the level of success he had before suffering two-straight losses, Khan made a change from hall of fame trainer Freddie Roach to the 2011 trainer of the year Virgil Hunter.

Khan said all the right things in this interview with Marcos Villegas to make you want to believe we will see a more calculated, aware fighter in the ring, but as we have seen in the past it is hard to switch up a boxer’s style, especially 29 fights into an already successful career.

All eyes will not only be on how Khan will implement his “new” style once in the ring with a real opponent in Carlos Molina, but also his somewhat suspect chin that was questioned even before the Garcia loss.

If and when Khan gets into trouble with Molina will be the real test to his style change, as when any level of panic sets in it will be easy to resort to the aggressive, offensive-minded approach he has been known for in the past. The same aggressive style has won him many fights and fans the world over, but it has also got him into trouble by being overly aggressive, with the Garcia fight being a prime example of that.

Khan will be a bigger threat if he can become more defensive-minded and would offer a bigger challenge to Mayweather if the two were to meet in the ring.

It will be as interesting to see what goes on in Khan’s corner in between as the fight itself, as we can see how he responds to Hunter’s advice and will give us a glimpse into how trainable he is and if his controversial complaints on Roach’s training techniques have any merit to them.