By Chris Williams: You have to wonder whether Amir Khan has his eyes wide open about his fight this weekend against Lamont Peterson. Almost like a young child, Khan has put an incredible amount of trust and confidence in his trainer Freddie Roach to help guide him through this tough fight with Peterson.

Khan seems to think that Roach is infallible at this early point in their coach/pupil relationship and Khan doesn’t recognize that Roach is often wrong. Roach is blessed with good talent such as Manny Pacquiao, but he’s not always right and the advice that he gives Khan and other fighters really is no better than what the fighter himself can do when in the ring. You know yourself better than your trainer does and to blindly follow Roach’s instructions rather than going by what feels like the right thing to do is pretty stupid.

It’s actually a recipe for disaster if you ask me. Khan has given too much of his responsibility for what happens in the ring to Roach instead of recognizing that Roach has done well in a lot of cases because he’s had some great fighters sign on board with him.

Khan said to the telegraph.co.uk “Freddie can read an opponent straight away; he can see the mistakes, strengths, weaknesses. He thought if we do take a fight with Peterson, he knew exactly what we’d do.”

I don’t like the way that sounds. I think Khan is selling himself short. He probably knows more what to do against Peterson than Roach, because he knows his body better than Roach. I think he needs to take in some of what Roach says but recognize that he’s the general in the ring, not Roach. Khan is the one that has to take shots from Peterson and he’s going to be out of luck if he’s forced to adapt during the action and Roach isn’t there to tell him to do.

Khan needs to be more independent and recognize that Roach comes up with bad game plans from time to time, and his fighters often struggle just like other fighters from other coaches. I don’t think Roach is what Khan has built him up to be and I hate to see him blindly following what he says without thinking for himself. I just hope Khan doesn’t crumble when things go bad for him in the course of action and Roach isn’t there to hold his hand, pat him on the back and give him words of advice. Khan has a lot of growing up to do and he might be better off waking up and realizing that he’s gotten this far on his own talent, not on what Roach tells him to do.