Khan: I’m hitting my peak years

Boxingnews.com

Amir Khan believes he’s hitting his peak years ahead of his comeback clash against Phil Lo Greco at a sold-out Echo Arena in Liverpool tonight, live on ESPN+. Khan steps back through the ropes for the first time in almost two years since facing Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in Las Vegas in May 2016 and the Liverpool fight fans will be the first to see him on UK soil in nearly five years. The former unified super lightweight ruler takes on Phil Lo Greco – who has former two-time super welterweight king Fernando Vargas in his corner.

Photo: Lawrence Lustig

Khan will have a new face backing him in Joe Goossen, who replaced an unwell Virgil Hunter as trainer for Khan’s camp, and the 31-year-old has allayed fears that the change will hurt his comeback – and says Goossen has bolstered his defensive skills

“I’ve always liked the way that Joe trains his fighters,” said Khan, who scaled 150lbs. “He’s trained some great fighters like Corrales and Casamayor. They’re fighters with a similar style to me so I thought Joe would be a good fit and we got in touch, got on and chose to work with him for the rest of camp and it’s worked well.

“Every coach is different. Joe has wanted to get my fundamentals right. He wants me to box how I used to, be smart and not make mistakes. Why give the opponent a free chance to hit you? Joe has been telling me to keep the hands up and when I throw a shot to always remember defense while making sure the offense is firing too.

“I feel really good. I’ve sparred a lot of young guys, Olympians and unbeaten hungry pros, and they have really been pushing me. They want to prove a point and show me how good they are, so they push me. I feel that my body is peaking and the gameplan that Joe is working on with me has come together. It’s been such a long time but I feel now like I’ve never left the game.

“The Amir Khan you’ll see is the one that boxes at a high pace with lots of combinations – but now when I throw them, there’s going to be better defense behind them. I feel better now than I did at 28. I’m 31 now, the peak years of my career, and I’ve made my mistakes and they’re in the past, I don’t want to make them again, so we move forward now and make the right choices.”