Amir Khan V Carlos Molina Preview
By: Callum Meads
Hull, UK (Friday 14th September) – On Saturday 15th December, Amir Khan is on the comeback trail once again. The British fighter is back with a new trainer, and what we hope to be a new, more conservative fighting style. Khan will face unbeaten Carlos Molina in his home turf of Los Angeles. The LA fighter is moving up from lightweight to challenge Amir Khan and is looking in fantastic shape, could Molina put a stop to the rebirth of Amir Khan?
In 17 fights Carlos Molina has never been beaten, the only blemish on his resume is an 8 round draw to Juan Montiel, a fighter who currently carries more losses than victories. Molina stepped up his competition in his last fight against Marcos Leandro Jimenez, a fight 10 round fight which he won unanimously. Although Carlos Molina has fought the majority of his career against unproven opposition, his unbeaten record should be respected. He is still an unknown commodity, a fighter who doesn’t know how to lose, and doesn’t think he can lose. But of course, the odds are greatly stacked against him. Not only does Molina come into this fight without any experience against top level opposition, he comes into this fight at a new, higher weight division. This will be Molina’s first fight at the light welterweight limit. The size difference becomes amplified in the flesh, as Amir Khan appears considerably his opponent. If Molina wants to defy the odds in this fight, he needs to not show Khan any respect once he enters the ring. Amir will be looking to show everyone how much he has improved under Virgil Hunter; he will box and look for the opening. The best way to drag Khan back to square one is to put pressure on him. If Molina can maintain constant pressure on Amir, there is a chance, albeit small, that he can throw him off of his game plan and reignite the machismo that has held back Khan’s potential as a boxer. However, Carlos Molina is lacking in the power department, and that clear limitation to his game could completely nullify his chances in this contest.
In the opposite corner, Amir Khan will be looking to make a statement to both his fans and critics. Not a statement of blazing hand speed or concussive power. A statement of change and development. Under new tutor Virgil Hunter, Amir is looking to channel his aggression and desire to excite, into his technical boxing skills. Far too often in the past Amir has given up those skills in exchange for a test of toughness. Hopefully this new chapter of Amir’s career will see him become a boxer, not a fighter. In his corner he has the perfect guy to help him. Old school trainer Virgil Hunter has helped Andre Ward become one of the best fighters in the world, a guy who fights with excellent defence and discipline. Amir is looking to pick up those traits, which is something he thought was neglected during his time with Freddie Roach. However, doing that is easier said than done. Khan is not naturally calm or disciplined. He struggled with anger and hyperactivity as a child, and those demons remerged whenever he got hit clean in the professional game. It could be an impossible task to change the way Amir thinks when under pressure or hurt, but if there is any man for the job, it’s Virgil Hunter. Having only worked together for a short amount of time, no one is expecting dramatic changes, and given the opposition, those changes might not need to appear. This should be a routine fight for Khan. As long as he stays focused and boxes like we know he can, the openings will appear and he should be able to score a TKO over the undersized Carlos Molina. The real test should come when Amir Khan steps back through the ropes against top class opposition, it is then we will see how far he has really come.
The fight will be live on Sky Sports 1 at 1am UK time Sunday morning. The Los Angeles crowd in attendance should create a great atmosphere as they hey hope to empower their man on to Victory.
English
be a write good fight amir khan has got 2 get this write if he diz not do his home work he will be gone cant see a away bk for amir but hope he diz the job be coz I like amir khan good boxer but with the write trainer and corner and people a round him haz 2 be good 4r him I hope so good boxer but he can be a great boxer if he can get the write people with him good luck amir hope you do the job and show the world that you are bk and can come bk from a big loss that's the way 2 do it love it boxing is the worlds best sport in the world no dout about it well talk with yous soon take care all,