Amir Khan interview: Barrera and the wrath of Khan

Published on Saturday 7 March 2009 18:50

MEET THE new Amir Khan. Gone is the young cavalier, the big shot in a small country, the up'n'at'em Olympic silver medallist who sustained his celebrity with a string of minor professional scalps.

In his place is an older, wiser, chastened figure, aware of his modest standing in the world and determined to improve on it, even if it means departing his comfort zone. In Manchester on Saturday night, the Englishman will put his reputation, maybe even his career, on the line when he fights Marco Antonio Barrera, by far his toughest opponent yet.

The stakes are high. Although a win for either man could set up a crack at the world lightweight title, Khan has more to lose. It is just six months since his weak chin and tactical naivete were exposed in a 54-second humiliation by Breidis Prescott. While beating Barrera, one of the game's biggest names, would bring to an abrupt end the criticism that has dogged him since September, losing to a 35-year-old Mexican whose best days are behind him would leave the fresh-faced Bolton lad with few options. Even his trainer, Freddie Roach, has suggested that, if the worst happens, he should consider an alternative career.

Not that the 22-year-old, who thought long and hard about taking the fight, is contemplating defeat. "If I didn't think I could win, I wouldn't have taken it on," he says. "I wouldn't want to spoil my record. I know I can beat this guy. A lot of people might be thinking I am taking this on too soon after the defeat, but I think it's the best time. I have the hunger."

Khan has plenty to prove. Although he has since recovered composure with his two-round stoppage of Oisin Fagan in December, he is still plagued by the reaction to his first defeat as a professional. He had rushed from his stool with apparent contempt for Prescott, head up, chin hanging out, only to be floored twice in a first round that confirmed his supporters' worst fears. In attack, he is a crowd-pleaser, a beguiling blur of gloves and feet, but too often there has been no defence to go with it. Jim Watt says he punches faster than he can think.

All of which Khan is at last acknowledging. He now sees the Prescott defeat as a blessing in disguise. Not only did he part with his coach, Jorge Rubio, he also addressed some home truths, the outcome of which saw him link up with Roach in Los Angeles. It allowed him to escape the criticism, as well as England itself, where everything from TV appearances and charity work to motoring offences and late-night scuffles have attracted too much publicity, some good, some bad, but none about boxing.

"I was winning fights, and the opponents were getting tougher, but I was just walking through them. The hunger was fading, there were distractions, and I never looked at my mistakes. When you win, you never look at the bad points. After the Prescott fight, we sat round the table and said 'why did this happen?' We looked at everything, not just the fight, but outside the ring as well, the appearances I was making, staying up late the night before. The best move was to get away from all that. That was one of the reasons I went to LA."

Roach, of course, was another. His Wild Card gym, just off Santa Monica Boulevard, is a magnet in boxing circles. Its disciples speak of sweat in the air, fight posters on the walls and egos left on the sidewalk. Bolton's local hero has loved every minute, especially the sparring sessions with Manny Pacquiao. "I have changed a lot, in camp and in my life," he says. "I have taken boxing more seriously than ever. It's been good to get away from the distractions in England, where I'm known everywhere I go. In LA, hardly anybody knows you, except the other boxers. When they see you alongside Manny Pacquiao, they are like 'who is Amir Khan?' That has given me the hunger back."

Khan says he has trained harder than ever before in his nine-week camp for Saturday's fight. His legs are bigger, his body thinner and his stamina much, much better, all of which he hopes will count against an opponent 13 years his senior. "I have the speed, the power and the height advantage, and I'm going to use all of them," he says. "I know I have the fitness to go 12 rounds with pace that Barrera cannot handle."

More important is the transformation in his style. Khan, who was a hyperactive child, hasn't found it easy to curb his attacking instincts, but with the expert help of Roach's assistants, Jesse Arevalo and Michael Moorer, he claims to have changed his ways. "You can't cheat with those guys," says Khan, whose aim now is to keep the hands up, the chin down, and his elbows in. There will, he says, be no more right hooks swung while the left glove is dangling about his hip.

Barrera has proved it is the way to go. He underwent his own root-and-branch reconstruction at an age when most fighters are set in their ways. A brawler by trade, his career was expected to be short, but he adapted. Some of his seven world titles were won with a strategic approach that wore opponents down. "This fight is going to be about patience," says Khan. "It is going to be technical. The Prescott fight made me realise that I can't be rushing in there. I might have got away with that in the past, but in the world-class fights you have to pace yourself and think about it. I will be more focused, more clinical. Instead of me rushing in with my hands down and my chin up, you will see just the opposite. This will be a new Amir Khan. I won't be making the old mistakes."

Of course, exercising that restraint will not be easy in the heat of battle, especially against so experienced an opponent. Barrera is a veteran of 72 professional fights, only six of which he has lost. His ambition is to become the first Mexican to win a world title at four different weights. He was the man who effectively ended Naseem Hamed's career in 2001, beating the flamboyant Sheffield boxer with a soul-destroying masterclass in strategic pugilism.

Khan, a friend of Hamed's, says they both expect revenge to be exacted on Saturday. Barrera has been written off in the past, but there is a limit to how long he can go on. While the metal plate inserted in his skull after surgery 12 years ago hasn't held him back, he still has a minor cut above his left eye, sustained in a warm-up fight against Freudis Rojas last month. There is also evidence that he doesn't enjoy fighting taller opponents.

And, for the first time in a professional career orchestrated by Frank Warren, Khan will be the underdog. It brings back memories of his amateur bouts with Mario Kindelan, the Cuban who beat him in the 2004 Olympic final. "Mentally, it is the same," he says. "You know you are going into a big fight, and you have to prove people wrong. When you go in against fighters you know you can beat, you are maybe not 100% focused. Barrera is a massive name, and I've put everything into it. This is going to bring out the best in Amir Khan. This is my chance to shut a lot of people up."