By John F. McKenna (McJack): For the 2nd fight in a row former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (26-3, 18 KO’s) neglected to follow the instructions of veteran trainer Freddie Roach. And for the 2nd time in a row Khan wound up losing the fight. Last December Amir lost his IBF/WBA title belts in Washington, D.C. to local favorite Lamont Peterson in a highly controversial decision.

It was a very good fight that could have gone either way, but the bottom line is that Amir was heavily favored and failed to heed his trainer’s admonition not to fight off the ropes. Khan instead attempted in the early rounds to make the fight a war of attrition. By the time Amir got the message and started following Roach’s instructions he had nothing left in the tank and there was no snap to his punches. Khan lost to Peterson in a fight that should not even have been close.

Last Saturday night Khan again failed to heed the advice of Roach, who had told him to box his opponent Danny Garcia (24-0, 15 KO’s) and use his speed to pile up points in the early rounds. But instead Amir decided to go for the KO and turn the fight into a slugfest. Again Khan ignored the advice of five time trainer of the year Roach. Just as in the Peterson fight Amir paid dearly for the mistake of not heeding his trainer’s advice.

This time however the results for Khan were near catastrophic with his career in jeopardy. There is no denying that Amir has the gift of amazing speed and packs a significant wallop. There is also no denying that he needs to get his ego in check if he is ever to fulfill his dream of being a world class fighter.

Instead of acknowledging his part in not sticking to the game plan for the Garcia fight Khan is now in a backhand way seemingly attributing some of the blame for his loss to Freddie Roach. Amir has gone public in saying that he is tired of playing 2nd fiddle to Manny Pacquiao when it comes to the time Roach spends with his fighters. That is something that Khan should have addressed privately with Roach instead of going to the press.

In addition Amir is missing the whole crux of why he lost. Khan lost because for the 2nd fight in a row he failed to follow the advice of his trainer and got careless. There is nothing a trainer can do for a fighter if his advice is not followed to the letter. Until Khan acknowledges his shortcomings and missteps he will not advance as a fighter from where he is now.