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LOS ANGELES —After Amir Khan lost two straight fights and all of his
championship belts, the British boxer decided his career was in dire need of a
reboot. Jonathan Goodwin Jersey . He started by
firing his celebrated trainer, Freddie Roach. “I called him myself,” Khan
recalled Tuesday. “I said, Freddie, Im going to make a change. Not many people
would do that, but Im the one who called him and said Im going to move to Virgil
Hunter. He wished me all the best, and we left it at that.” The switch was a
bold move for a fighter with Khans Olympic pedigree and solid professional
record, but the light welterweight star has never been afraid of taking risks.
Hunter has refocused Khans energy on fighting with his head instead of his
heart, a tendency that Khan (26-3, 18 KOs) blames for his knockout loss to Danny
Garcia in July. After several weeks with Hunter, the Bay Area trainer behind
Andre Wards climb up the pound-for-pound rankings, Khan already sees a
significant difference in both his body and his mental approach. He hopes to
show everything hes learning in his comeback fight against Carlos Molina on Dec.
15. “Youll see a new Amir Khan, for sure,” he said. “An Amir Khan who is
smarter, more focused, and thinking about himself instead of the crowd. I think
my style will always please the crowd, but Im going to be smart and think about
everything, instead of jumping in and making mistakes.” Khan appeared with
Molina (17-0-1, 17 KOs) at the historic Los Angeles Sports Arena on Tuesday to
promote their Showtime bout. Although Khan rose to international prominence
during his four years with Roach, the veteran mastermind behind Manny Pacquiao
and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., few boxing observers were surprised when they split
after Garcia upset Khan with a fourth-round stoppage. Khan lost his WBC and WBA
140-pound belts when he attempted to brawl with Garcia instead of boxing him. In
hindsight, Khan decided he wasnt getting enough attention from the busy Roach,
who sometimes asked Khan to travel to the Philippines so he could train Khan and
Pacquiao, the Filipino congressman. “We all know hes a great trainer, but I
changed because I needed someone whos going to spend 100 per cent time with me,”
Khan said. “I need to be more selfish. Im in this position now when I know I
cant make any mistakes. ... With Freddie, it would have been very hard right
now, having Manny in his camp, also Chavez, and I think hes training Victor
Ortiz, so its a lot of people.” Khan had another reason for splitting with
Roach, who has Parkinsons disease. “Freddies illness, its very hard to see him
as hes getting older,” Khan said. “I believe that hes getting worse, and I wish
him all the best. Freddie is still, with the Parkinsons disease, doing a great
job working the mitts and working with fighters day in, day out. I just believe
that I need someone who is going to work me that bit harder and get the best out
of me.” With Ward not expected to fight again until next year, Hunter is focused
on Khan. Hunter was shocked to learn Khan had never done strength work on his
neck muscles, and thats not his only concern about the fighters previous
instruction. “Some of the conditioning coaches that have worked with him in the
past have created imbalances in his body that arent conducive to boxing at all,”
Hunter said. “If he was playing basketball or soccer or something, they might
help him, but they dont help in boxing. I think that has to do with people just
tinkering with a kid who is willing to train, willing to follow instructions,
and hes been let down in a lot of areas that he shouldnt have been let down in.”
Along with good weather and elite instruction, the West Coast also offers
distance from the British tabloids coverage of his upcoming marriage to Faryal
Makhdoom. Just two days earlier, The Sun newspaper published a story claiming
Khan had been partying with other women on a recent vacation in Marbella, Spain.
Most champion boxers dont face such swarms of attention on their personal lives
—but most champions arent British, Khan says with a smile. “Shes cool. She
knows the truth, because I didnt do anything, honestly,” Khan said. “She doesnt
believe anything that the papers say anyway, because Im honest to her. I dont
have to lie. Theres always going to be stuff said about me. Its a distraction
when you prepare, definitely. I think thats why my fiancee and my family havent
really spoken to me about it. Theyve just kept it with them.” Colin Kaepernick
Elite Jersey . It was a Saturday during the Memorial Day long
weekend. But Lou Lamoriello was in the office. “I work weekends and hes almost
always in,” said the security guard at the entrance of the Prudential Center. Chris Culliver Jersey . With Gary Bettman and
Donald Fehr not scheduled to sit across from one another until the middle of
next week and the sides unable to even agree on the core issues that need to be
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.J. Edds with season-ending knee injuries. Coach Chuck Pagano says both players
have “significant” ACL injuries to their left knees and the team hopes to add
two players to the roster soon. Ray McDonald Jersey . The 27-year-old Stearns
was Clevelands director of baseball operations last season. Dashon Goldson Black Jersey . Ashleigh
Brykaliuk, Cassidy Carels, Karly Heffernan and Eden Murray scored for Canada and
netminder Jessica Dodds made 10 saves for the victory. “We didnt have a lot of
success early but the great thing is the girls just stuck with the game plan and
they kept working at it,” said Canadian coach Jim Fetter. MONTREAL —Montreal
Impact midfielder Patrice Bernier was suspended one game and fined an
undisclosed amount on Friday for a nasty tackle on Toronto FCs Ryan Johnson.
Major League Soccers disciplinary committee issued the ruling for Berniers
“reckless challenge that endangered the safety of Toronto FC forward Ryan
Johnson.” Bernier was shown the yellow card after his aggressive challenge left
Johnson limping in the 94th minute of TFCs 3-0 victory last week at Montreal. Aldon Smith Womens Jersey. The Brossard,
Que., native will sit out Montreals match at D.C. United on Saturday night.
Johnson said after the game that Bernier should have got a red card. “If I got
really hurt I would have been more upset,” he said. “Im glad I was able to walk
away from that tackle. That was probably one of the worst tackles Ive seen.” ’ ’
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