Wow! I'm guessing that Amir "King" Khan must have been listening to the critics and naysayers that kept saying he was one loss away from ending his career.
Just moments ago, Khan took out his frustrations on the face of Carlos Molina and got a tenth-round knockout victory.
After the loss to Danny Garcia, Khan fired famed trainer Freddie Roach. He would replace him with Virgil Hunter. Hunter is also the trainer of undefeated super middleweight champion Andre Ward. It seems that Khan has made the right choice as that decision paid off tonight.
In the past, Khan was notorious for going against the wisdom of Freddie Roach and letting his punches go wild. That approach to fighting had worked until the loss to Danny Garcia. After tonight's fight, Khan stated that Hunter has made him a more patient fighter.
I definitely saw a change in Khan's style tonight. Carlos Molina came into this fight looking to take advantage of the doubt surrounding Khan's career.
Khan, however, came into this bout with a renewed focus and a greater sense of urgency.
Molina was the home crowd favorite at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, but that did not phase Khan whatsoever. Khan dominated from start to finish. His jab was the driving force behind tonight's big win.
Molina tried to fight back but he was simply outpunched, outmatched and overpowered.
After the fourth round, Molina's trainer had threatened to stop the fight if he didn't battle back. At first it seemed like he was trying to motivate the No. 6-ranked fighter. But the threats persisted for the duration of the contest.
Not helping matters was the fact that Molina's face received numerous bruises and cuts as the fight continued. Khan had already caused a small cut over Molina's eye after the first round.
Finally after the tenth round, Molina's corner made good on their threat. The fight was stopped and Khan was awarded the knockout victory, the tenth KO of his career.
In breaking his two-fight losing streak, Khan was also awarded the WBC Sliver Light Welterweight championship.
Danny Garcia was in attendance and Khan called him out during his postfight interview. Khan said that he would rematch Garcia anytime, anywhere. But he will have to wait on any such fight as Garcia first mus deal with Zab Judah in February.
For the moment, Khan will celebrate this victory and then decide what his next step will be.
The ball is completely in his court now, and all options are on the table for the British fighter.
My guess is Khan's next fight won't be until the spring of 2013. But after his performance tonight, I look forward to seeing how he performs in his next bout.
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