Amir Khan will be patient

  • Last Updated: December 13 2012, 7:58 GMT


Amir Khan: Fights Carlos Molina on Saturday
Amir Khan: Fights Carlos Molina on Saturday

The Bolton fighter has lost his last two fights largely because he got himself into brawls when he did not need to.

Lamont Peterson dragged him into the trenches a year ago to come out on top while Danny Garcia caught him off guard with a left hook in July en route to a fourth-round stoppage win.

Khan has sought to rectify that by switching trainers from Freddie Roach to Virgil Hunter and expects the move to pay dividends.

"One thing I've learned though is not to go for those knockouts," he said.

"They'll come themselves. Beat a fighter up, make him quit - that's probably better than knocking a fighter out because it's making him submit.

"With the sparring I've had I've not been focusing on knocking an opponent out, it's been about beating him up until he himself falls or gives up."

Khan (26-3, 18KOs) insists he has grown up ahead of his meeting with Molina (17-0-1, 7KOs).

"It's about patience and maturity," he admitted. "I think I've matured a lot because the way I train now is different to how I trained before.

"Even things like being in this area, San Francisco, which is really quiet compared to LA. It's really quiet, there are no distractions like Hollywood stars coming to your gym or famous people coming to see you train.

"Sometimes that can take your mind off the main focus as well. It's all about focusing on what you do best. I come to the gym now and there's only about five people here, which gives me chance to concentrate on what I want to do instead of having people watching you train and spar, which sometimes leads to you trying to impress them and not make any mistakes.

"Then, you're doing it for the people watching rather than for yourself. In sparring when there are people watching you want to knock your opponent out to look good and you forget about the gameplan.

"But here we take a shot sometimes so you know you're making a mistake and you can work on it and correct it. That's what I like about being here.

"Things happen for a reason and so maybe it (the Garcia loss) was for the best because I'm at a gym now which might take me up another couple of notches and make me a better fighter."
