Can a leopard change its spots?

Since Amir Khan was knocked out in four rounds against Danny Garcia, pundits and fans alike have been asking if Khan can really change from his all all action style. After Garcia, Khan and Roach parted ways with Khan accusing Roach of not giving him enough time, and complaining that the hall of fame trainer spent far to much of his time with Manny Pacquiao. So it was a surprise when Khan named Virgil Hunter as his new mentor, a man who although only trains a handful of fighters, has top pound for pound fighter, and king of the super middleweights Andre Ward in his stable.

Khan didn't like having to travel around the world to get attention from Roach, and with Hunter firmly based in Oakland, it will certainly be a smoother transition than the constant travelling. Hunter will want Khan around the gym a lot, certainly early on. He will want him to learn how he works, and he will need Khan to learn that if he and Ward both have fights close together his time will be divided between them, whether that be equally remains to be seen but you have to think Khan would have gone elsewhere if that wasn't the case.

The other question people are asking is, how drastic is this change going to be for Khan. He attracts fans because he is exciting, he has a great mix of vulnerability and top class skills, that fight fans love to see. His fight with Marcos Maidana is a superb example of this, for 9 rounds Khan boxed the Argentinians ears off, however in round 10 Maidana was able to get to Khan and came very close to turn the lights out for the man from Bolton. The difference in styles couldn't be more vast, Khan a come forward fighter, throwing punches in bunches with a dangerous disregard for any form of defence, while Ward is a rough house fighter, who is happy to box at range, engage on the inside and has a fantastic knowledge of when to move and when to tie up. He is superb at riding punches and if Khan can learn this instead of getting hit flush, his chin could stay protected.

Obviously nobody knows how much Khan will learn from Hunter or Ward, but there is no denying his next opponent has been picked to make him look good. Carlos Molina is stepping up for his first fight at light welterweight, and has not shown great punch power at any point during his career so far, hasn't recorded a stoppage since 2010 when his opponent retired hurt and has never fought over the twelve round distance. I don't see this fight actually proving more than his fight with Paulie Mallinaggi. He won't test Khans chin, and as soon as he realises he can walk through what is being thrown at him he will disregard defence.

Khan needs to box to orders, if he wants to make the most of his career he needs to put his macho side away as it risks derailing what has so fan been a successful career. Hunter needs to install a realisation in Khan that he isn't the second coming of Jake Lamotta. I hope that they have sat down together and Khan has been told some home truths, he has said he watched the Garcia fight and knows where he made mistakes, he has said he knows that he was wrong to stand and trade with a guy who has shown great punch power in his last two fights. Khans career rests on this fight, lose and he will be down at European level, win and he takes a small step back towards challenging for honours but it will only be a small step as he really needs to learn to walk before he can run.

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Nothing new, but a well written article all the same.

i think judah was khans best performance, even though he isnt as good as he once was, he kept well disciplined through out the fight. his chin is the worry as he cant improve that, but i dont see no reason why he cant improve his game, he's done it once before after the prescott fight.

and been around ward will help, maybe been around pac man was a bad idea as it made him wanna fight like his buddy, if he fought more like ward it would be a good thing.

Actually when he was sparring Manny he needed to keep sharp and it showed in his fights. Once they stopped then Khans focus and discipline shifted - presumably because his sparring partners weren't up to scratch or the sessions weren't intense enough. Against Garcia - he was seriosuly showing glimpses of brilliance - then he lost his focus and the fight.

I think anybody can change (just look at Wlad) but Amir is tricky as he seems to love looking flash and as you say, when/if Amir realizes he can take Molina's shots he may go wild again, which will gain him nothing.

Good article.

You can change the spots, and history has shown this time and again; in the past two decades alone, we've had Wladimir, Hopkins (he wasn't always the cagey, no-frills operator we're used to seeing in more recent times), Pacquiao etc, all of whom have ironed out early flaws, added extra dimensions to their game and amended their styles and habits accordingly, leading to greater and more consistent success.

Whether or not Khan has the mental discipline to do this remains to be seen. And that's all it is, because physically he has all the tools, and he has a superb work ethic, something I've always praised him for.

I'm still optimistic about Khan's future, personally.

ShahenshahG wrote:Actually when he was sparring Manny he needed to keep sharp and it showed in his fights. Once they stopped then Khans focus and discipline shifted - presumably because his sparring partners weren't up to scratch or the sessions weren't intense enough. Against Garcia - he was seriosuly showing glimpses of brilliance - then he lost his focus and the fight.

He didn't lose his focus. Garcia found the right punch and landed. Lets not take credit away from the winner. He called it and landed it.

Very good article. Although I was sure it was the 10th round not the 11th when Maidana got to Khan. I may be wrong though!

I was the same couldn't remember, was the tenth will alter that now. Cheers Daz