Khan expects new regime to help stun Barrera
Friday, 13 March 2009
MANCHESTER, Mar 12(AFP): Amir Khan believes he has been transformed in less than six months working with trainer Freddie Roach and on Saturday plans to show that improvement when he boxes Marco Antonio Barrera.
The English lightweight faces his toughest opponent since turning professional after winning an Olympic silver medal aged 17 in 2004 and victory over Mexican Barrera would revive his career following a shock first defeat last year.
Khan was obliterated in just 54 seconds by Colombian Breidis Prescott in September at the MEN Arena in Manchester, where he returns to face Barrera for the World Boxing Association (WBA) International and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Inter- Continental lightweight titles.
A win for Khan (22) will lead to a shot at one of the four major world titles, something that seemed a long way off when he was flattened by Prescott.
But Khan, whose parents moved to Bolton in England from Pakistan before he was born, changed trainers after losing to Prescott and has enjoyed the new regime under Roach at a gym in Los Angeles, California.
Khan is also savouring the anonymity he has in America while training with Roach, who also coaches the world's leading pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao.
The English lightweight faces his toughest opponent since turning professional after winning an Olympic silver medal aged 17 in 2004 and victory over Mexican Barrera would revive his career following a shock first defeat last year.
Khan was obliterated in just 54 seconds by Colombian Breidis Prescott in September at the MEN Arena in Manchester, where he returns to face Barrera for the World Boxing Association (WBA) International and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Inter- Continental lightweight titles.
A win for Khan (22) will lead to a shot at one of the four major world titles, something that seemed a long way off when he was flattened by Prescott.
But Khan, whose parents moved to Bolton in England from Pakistan before he was born, changed trainers after losing to Prescott and has enjoyed the new regime under Roach at a gym in Los Angeles, California.
Khan is also savouring the anonymity he has in America while training with Roach, who also coaches the world's leading pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao.