BOXING PREVIEWS:AMIR KHAN is convinced his brutal defeat by Breidis Prescott will prove the turning point in a career that has now been rid of outside distractions.
The Olympic silver medallist meets Oisín Fagan at the London ExCeL tonight in his first appearance since being annihilated in 54 seconds by little known Colombian puncher Prescott.
But far from mourning the only blemish on his 19-fight record, Khan believes it set off a chain of events that will guide him to the top. Trainer Jorge Rubio was dismissed and the 22-year-old headed over to Los Angeles where he has spent six weeks under the watchful eye of the highly respected Freddie Roach.
Regular sparring sessions with ferocious Filipino Manny Pacquiao has honed his skills in the ring while the atmosphere in the Wildcard Boxing Gym also promoted a change in thinking.
"Things happen for a reason. If I hadn't lost I wouldn't have met Freddie and sparred with Manny," he said. "Training in America was new for me but I loved it. I'll do it for every fight now. Now I'm living and sleeping boxing.
"There will be no appearances outside, no doing this or that. Now I'm turning that type of stuff down. In the UK I have the status of being a celebrity. Boxing has made me bigger but if I go to LA then not many people know who I am. I don't have any distractions."
Prescott confirmed suspicions over Khan's vulnerable chin in devastating fashion and Khan's reaction should Fagan connect cleanly tomorrow will be closely monitored. But sparring with Pacquiao, possibly the best pound for pound fighter in the world, has strengthened his self-belief.
"It's been good because Manny has wanted to prove a point to me. I did really well against him - I wasn't battered once," he said.
"I don't think I lost a single session against him in the gym.
"At first I wasn't supposed to spar Manny because of the difference in experience but once Freddie had seen me on the pads he decided to put me in with him. And he was impressed.
"If I can do well against the best pound for pound fighter in the world then I'm on the right track. Manny knows I was causing him problems." With Roach finalising preparations for Pacquiao's clash with Oscar De La Hoya, also tonight, his chief assistant Jesse Arevalo will lead Khan's corner.
"Amir said a lot of sparring partners in England were intimidated by the name and weren't pushing him. That made him a little lazy and too confident," said Arevalo.
"He got an awakening against Manny. He got to see how a great fighter trains and carries himself."
Durable Oklahoma-based Irishman Fagan, who has 13 KOs in 22 wins, has noticed the large entourage surrounding Khan.
"On fight night it will be just the two of us. Amir's got to be thinking about when he got knocked out all the time."
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