We can talk about the pushing and holding... but that is something Khan does when the fight distance isn't to his liking. What I did notice is that he did mostly a great job of avoiding those counters that get him in trouble. He fought to a nice disciplined game plan.
I thought Khan looked good. I believed Luis was a good test for him and he fought a disciplined fight as you said.
He'll continue to improve as he tests the techniques Hunter has been teaching him in the ring and see how they work for him. The whole fight Hunter kept reminding him to use that uppercut to the body when he was inside. When he finally did as he was told he floored Collazo with that body shot. If he starts jabbing to the body from outside and throwing a straight right to the body he'll get even better.
I noticed Khan hold Collazo's head down all night. He basically held anything. The ref should've taken a point away early in the fight. Even thought Collazo didn't look great, if they were allowed to fight inside - he'd of KO'd Amir. Khan will have it tailormade for him to land a big fight, but he'll get KO'd on a level playing field.
He always did this even before he got with Hunter. It's because he does know what to do when pressure fighters get inside and he has the habit of pushing their heads down until the ref breaks. Hunter doesn't want him doing this and maybe by his next fight we'll see less of it.
Ali didn't resort to using this tactic anywhere near as much as Khan does it. Khan does it al least 3-4 times per round, or anythime his opponent works inside. Ali had a jab and superior footwork which he used to keep his opponent on the outside for most of the rounds.
Khan made significant strides. Hunter said it will take at least three fights before he can put his imprint on Amir. We saw some smarter fighting in the Molina fight. Diaz, there were some setbacks, but he did make better decisions. I think the Diaz fight forced him to reevaluate his dedication to his craft. I think Ward and Hunter's influence is finally being seen. A lot of people were calling for Khan to leave Hunter. It was a gutsy decision to stay and I think it proved to be the right one. In addition, people were saying physically he didn't look good without Ariza. I think last night, although in spurts he appeared a bit gassed.....his physical gifts: speed, movement were absolutely still there at still very young age of 27.
