Amir Khan’s statement regarding split with Freddie Roach – Boxing News
Former WBA and IBF unified champion Amir Khan released a public statement, justifying his split with Hall of Famer coach Freddie Roach. Khan parted ways with Roach last week, as he revealed in an interview. Now, the British-Pakistani fighter has released
a public statement, revealing reasons of his split with Roach.
“After nearly four years together, in which we enjoyed some great success, I part ways with my trainer Freddie Roach. I would like to thank him for all his hard work and help during this period and express my gratitude to him for the progress he helped bring
about whilst I was under him,” read Khan’s statement.
Khan started speaking of splitting with Roach after his July 14 brutal knockout loss to American unbeaten fighter and the current WBC and WBA light welterweight titlist Danny Garcia. Khan suffered a huge third round left hook from Garcia when he let his
guard down. Instead of reflecting over his blunder, Khan insisted that his coach was unsuccessful in preparing his defence.
“I would also like to thank his team. I loved every minute training in LA at the Wildcard Gym, learning and sparring alongside some truly great fighters and meeting some fantastic people,” his statement read further.
Initially, Khan spoke of adding a new defence trainer to his arsenal, as he believed Roach was unable to give him enough time. According to Khan, Roach focuses more on Filipino fighter Manny Pacquiao. He asked Roach if he could give make him his first priority
but the Hall of Famer refused. In other words, Roach was ready for splitting with Khan.
In a recent interview, Roach revealed that Khan should not compare himself with Pacquiao, as the latter is a classier fighter. According to Roach, Pacquiao would have defeated Garcia easily, without losing a single round against the American.
To most analysts, Khan’s loss to Garcia was due to his own blunder and overconfidence. It was not the first time the Briton suffered a knockout. His first knockout loss came at the hands of Breidis Prescott four years back.
Khan believes he needs a trainer who can focus entirely on him and so he is on his way to find the right one.
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