Khan's trainer

Everyone is speculating about Khan's choice of trainer, as it's fairly obvious he can't fight the Freddy Roach way.
There has been talk of Manny Steward, Enzo has offered, but I think one important name has been left out.

Ingle!

Khan would fit right in to his hit and run, limbo dancing style. I could see him as the next Bomber Graham!

Opinions please??

I think i would be pretty dangerous. Khan needs to work on a tightening up his defence rather than relying on low hands and reflexes. If he gets tagged he gets hurt so he has to work on protecting himself better.

I dont expect a change in trainer to initiate a complete revolution with Khan either. Unfortunately he doesnt appear to be very durable so he will need to lose the macho stuff and willingness to stand in front of opponents and trade which needs to start with him and his attitude before any trainer can be effective.

Agree with Manos, Ingle all wrong for Khan, and as for being the the next Bomber Graham, not in month of Sundays, Herol had a much broader set of skills than Khan, better balance, reflexes, range of punches an so on. Khan would be best with someone that makes him make the best of the skillls and assets that he has. Stewart would be my choice.

It'd be an interesting mix with enzo in his corner, but joe had a brilliant chin so could afford to take a few punches along the way.

however, i dont think enzo is dumb enough to simply make khan fight like clazaghe. every fighter needs their own touches.

What about Adam Booth? He certainly likes the hit and run routine...it won Haye a HW belt.

To some extent he used the same plan for Groves against Degale. With Haye likely retiring soon, Khan would be be the number one boy in the stable which he seems to crave/require.

Booth is actually not a bad shout, would agree with those saying Ingle is a bad fit, the last thing Khan needs is encouraging to fight with his hands down, also not sure sharing space with Brook would work out to well ego wise. However whilst I do think Booth is a bit of a one trick pony stylistically it is not too bad a fit for Khan’s assets and weaknesses because he certainly has the speed to utilize the dashing in and out style Booth favours and this is not a style that puts you in harm’s way too often, which has to be a boon for Khan. Also with Haye’s future less than certain he could certainly end up as the centre of attention and even if Haye carries on he has hardly maintained a too busy schedule in recent years.

True, but Khan is trying at the best of times - putting him in with a Kumquat like booth will end the universe.

I guess the key difference between Khan and both of Booth's main fighters, Haye and Groves, is that both of those men seem to carry some decent power at their respective weights (albeit Groves's power is yet to be tested at world level).

The other issue is that we saw the limitations of the style when Haye faced a serous world class operator. It's going to be a struggle to keep winning on points using such a tactic when you can't put your opponents away. Haye managed it against Valuev, but given the talent in and around Khan's division. hard to see him being able to pull that off for the rest of his career.

Steward seems the best choice.

TheMackemMawler wrote:To some extent he used the same plan for Groves against Degale. With Haye likely retiring soon, Khan would be be the number one boy in the stable which he seems to crave/require.

Did you see Booth on Ringside in the weeks following the DeGale win? He did an excellent breakdown and reasoning behind their tactics and style employed for the fight.

superflyweight wrote:

Steward seems the best choice.

The main issue I can see with Manny is one of Khan's main issues with Freddie is playing second fiddle to Manny, would have to think this will be the case with Steward for as long as one or more of the brothers are still active.

Adam Booth's technique actually seems like a weak version of Brendan Ingle to me..

andygf wrote:Adam Booth's technique actually seems like a weak version of Brendan Ingle to me..

I don't know what you mean, or why you think that?

Well, Ingle's fighters tended to focus on defence, to the point of the style being a negative looking on occasion. Booth's Haye/Groves thing of circling around and feinting kind of reminds me of him, but no Ingle knew boxing inside out and Booth is indeed a one-trick pony

Just wondered what you meant.

superflyweight wrote:I guess the key difference between Khan and both of Booth's main fighters, Haye and Groves, is that both of those men seem to carry some decent power at their respective weights (albeit Groves's power is yet to be tested at world level).

The other issue is that we saw the limitations of the style when Haye faced a serous world class operator. It's going to be a struggle to keep winning on points using such a tactic when you can't put your opponents away. Haye managed it against Valuev, but given the talent in and around Khan's division. hard to see him being able to pull that off for the rest of his career.

Steward seems the best choice.

No amount of training or any trainer could have made Haye win that fight. Moreover it's more of Wlad being tentative that made the fight o that far. I doubt Haye could have done anything to win that fight.

Much is made of Khan changing trainer,and Manny Steward is probably a good shout,but regardless if he tightens his defense up, at some stage during the fight he is going to get hit and Khan can't change his chin.

Barerra on ringside a few months ago said Khan doesn't hit hard and a lot thought it was sour grapes but I feel its proving to be spot on,Khan's fast but has limited power.

Khan has enough power to make his opponent think. He has the speed to land them in volumes. What he needs to do (as I have said for ages) is for him to be able to develop and establish a jab. He can therefore control a fight with his jab. There is no better trainer for a jab that Steward.

What a load of guff.......No one changes Khan!!! because he has nothing between his ears!!!

Do you think Steward told Hearns to brawl with Hagler??? Or to get carried away offensively against Barkley???

Tommy was a great grreat fighter who wasn't that smart...

Roach has fine tuned.....to me he has done a great job...

azania wrote:Khan has enough power to make his opponent think. He has the speed to land them in volumes. What he needs to do (as I have said for ages) is for him to be able to develop and establish a jab. He can therefore control a fight with his jab. There is no better trainer for a jab that Steward.

Develop a jab he's a 25yearold ex world champion not a 10 punch novice, if he doesn't know how to establish his jab by now he never will.

TopHat24/7 wrote:

TheMackemMawler wrote:To some extent he used the same plan for Groves against Degale. With Haye likely retiring soon, Khan would be be the number one boy in the stable which he seems to crave/require.

Did you see Booth on Ringside in the weeks following the DeGale win? He did an excellent breakdown and reasoning behind their tactics and style employed for the fight.

I don't have sky

It's never too late..

Look at Ernie in the Open.............

Ingle could work. Freddie is not getting it done at the minute and Khan needs a boxing brain installed in him, because at times, he lacks one. The real problem is that he has a weak chin, and fighters feed off this.

"Freddie is not getting it done at the minute........"

Why isn'yt he??.....Is he supposed to fight for Khan as well as train him...

The kid is thick.....end of!

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:"Freddie is not getting it done at the minute........"

Why isn'yt he??.....Is he supposed to fight for Khan as well as train him...

The kid is thick.....end of!

Truss, given that Khan has lost two fights in a row , both of which he was expected to win, it's fair to ask if something isn't working in camp, and whilst I fully agree that Freddie did a great job in fine tuning him, and there was a marked improvement in Khan, it may be that familiarity is turning to contempt, especially if Khan doesn't believe the Freddie is giving him enough attention. The old saying that a change is as good as a break may appply here, and that Freddie and Khan's relationship has run it's course and it's time to move on. It's not a smear on Freddie's undoubted ability as a coach to suggest that for whatever reason, he's not "getting it done".

Always get the impression with Ingle his style and training methods are so idiosyncratic he has more success with fighters who have been with him since kids (Naz, Nelson, Brook etc) think joining him at such a late date would not particularly work. To be honest though think I am more with Truss on this, Roach is a top trainer and on the back of this loss and a couple of flattish performances from Manny has not become otherwise, Khan is just not as good as his reputation or hype suggests and he simply does not have a good enough chin at the top level, or the ring intelligence, discipline or tactical savvy to execute a plan to hide this and I am not convinced any trainer will instill this.

Yeah I agree with rowley completely. Khan has been boxing a long time now even though hes only 25. I just cant see major reconstructions in style.

By all means change trainer if you feel you can improve elsewhere. And obviously there are issues with Khan in terms of pecking order and training which may be legitmate. I just wouldnt expect miracles and some of the problems Khan has both physically and mentally may be unsolveable by any trainer. Someone like Steward may aswell not exist if Khan is going to ignore him and try and put on a show and trade with his opponent. Steward wont be abe to give him a chin either.

Nico the gman wrote:

azania wrote:Khan has enough power to make his opponent think. He has the speed to land them in volumes. What he needs to do (as I have said for ages) is for him to be able to develop and establish a jab. He can therefore control a fight with his jab. There is no better trainer for a jab that Steward.

Develop a jab he's a 25yearold ex world champion not a 10 punch novice, if he doesn't know how to establish his jab by now he never will.

Its never too late. Look at what Manny did to Andries.

Gatti was a face first brawler until he worked with McGirt. He developed a jab, lateral movement and some jive in his style. Almost resembled a brother.

Gatti was always brawler though, he just became a smoother one.

manos de piedra wrote:Gatti was always brawler though, he just became a smoother one.

In one of his fights with Ward, he was showing off some slick moves. Something he never did. Plus showing a decent jab.

Yeah but I think Khan noticeably improved under Roach aswell and posted some very good performances considering the version Roach got had been wiped out by a B/C level fighter and been floored by domestic level super featherweights.

Do you think if Gatti had ditched McGirt and then gone on to Steward he would have developed a world class jab and control style?

Every fighter is different so it is difficult to determine how much of their potential they are realising or what a trainer is getting out of them etc. I think its quite rare that a change in trainer leads to significant stylistic adjustments with great success.

Difficult to say what a new trainer would do for Khan. I would just be surprised if it was major improvements or the successful implementation of a whole new style. I also wonder how much of the problems are down to Khans failure to listen or obey as opposed to being instructed incorrectly. There seems to be an expectation among some that Khan is really a new trainer away from being a top pound for pound fighter but it could just be the case that theres only so far he can go regardless of who trains him. Depends on how ones views his potential or capacity to improve really.

For me Gatti's boxing ability is severely underrated (he was just too macho to showcase it). His heart was too powerful for his head, so he had no choice but to brawl when boxing was the better option.

manos de piedra wrote:Yeah but I think Khan noticeably improved under Roach aswell and posted some very good performances considering the version Roach got had been wiped out by a B/C level fighter and been floored by domestic level super featherweights.

Do you think if Gatti had ditched McGirt and then gone on to Steward he would have developed a world class jab and control style?

Every fighter is different so it is difficult to determine how much of their potential they are realising or what a trainer is getting out of them etc. I think its quite rare that a change in trainer leads to significant stylistic adjustments with great success.

Difficult to say what a new trainer would do for Khan. I would just be surprised if it was major improvements or the successful implementation of a whole new style. I also wonder how much of the problems are down to Khans failure to listen or obey as opposed to being instructed incorrectly. There seems to be an expectation among some that Khan is really a new trainer away from being a top pound for pound fighter but it could just be the case that theres only so far he can go regardless of who trains him. Depends on how ones views his potential or capacity to improve really.

McGirt is a terrific trainer also. A trainer can improve a fighter to a certain level. The rest is up to the fighter's inate ability. I personally believe that Roach is not best suited to Khan. I reckon Khan can improve his jab if he is with a trainer who coaches him how to use it. Not saying he will develop a Hearns esque jab, but it will improve and will improve his all round game.

horizontalhero wrote:Agree with Manos, Ingle all wrong for Khan, and as for being the the next Bomber Graham, not in month of Sundays, Herol had a much broader set of skills than Khan, better balance, reflexes, range of punches an so on. Khan would be best with someone that makes him make the best of the skillls and assets that he has. Stewart would be my choice.

I meant as in the Julian Jackson fight ;-)))

If Khan goes with Steward and it doesn't work out perhaps he can change trainer again.
The fact is at some stage in a world title fight unless your a master of defense your going to get hit and regardless of who Khan's trainer is they can't improve his chin.

I've spent too much time thinking about things, at the end of the day, his chin is as much use as a marshmallow razor.

Amir Khan states on sky sports text that he will decide his future with Freddie Roach after his next fight,but that coaches from all over the world have been in touch with him including Manny Steward and the Mayweathers.

There has been a lot of talk of Steward but would the Mayweathers be a good or a bad choice,plusses are you get to spar with PBF who has perhaps the best defense in the world ,minuses are do you become the 2ND string fighter in the shadow of PBF.
Tough one to call this but by what Khan's saying he's definitely moving on.

I dont think a defense like Floyd's can be taught to be honest. He needs to learn how to control distance better and to make his offense more effective.

alma wrote:

Kelvinj3 wrote:

horizontalhero wrote:Agree with Manos, Ingle all wrong for Khan, and as for being the the next Bomber Graham, not in month of Sundays, Herol had a much broader set of skills than Khan, better balance, reflexes, range of punches an so on. Khan would be best with someone that makes him make the best of the skillls and assets that he has. Stewart would be my choice.

I meant as in the Julian Jackson fight ;-)))

people always don their rose tinted spectacles when it comes to graham. Khan has achieved much more and to say that graham was infinitely better is ludicrous.

Nothing rose tinted about it mate- Graham was way more skilled I didn't say infinitely better, but he was considerably more talented. Khan however has got far more out of his talent than Graham- mentally Khan is more confident and has more belief in himself- had Graham had that sort of self belief he would have achieved more.

Too much self belief caused him to lose against Jackson. He got McCallum on a good night and if there ever was a rematch, Mike would have won easier. But Herol never made his opponents look good and he went quickly into the "who wants him" list

Hear what you are saying re the Jackson fight, but Herol had a long history of mental fragility and torment, he even tried to take his own life once his career was over.
And further to my reply to Alma, it's easy to forget what Herol did achieve, as his failures in world title fights are what's usually remembered, but he won a multitude of British, commonwealth, and European tiltes at LMW and MW. I would have like to see more young fighters follow this route to success that than just progress straight to fighting for the alaphabet straps as Khan did. But I do concede that being the Ring belt holder and defacto top man in the division trumps Herol's achievements in terms of who got closer to the peak of the mountain so to speak

He won the commonwealth title when it meant something. Fought in Nigeria or was it Ghana in 15 round fights. Incredible.