Daily Express
By Frank Wiechula
WHEN that dark, dangerous time comes in a fight, forcing Amir Khan to dig deep into his soul, deeper than he has ever had to previously, he will know he is ready.
The man who would be king has been brutally put through his paces, had the limits of his mental and physical endurance tested as never before, in preparation for the pivotal moment which could turn him into a world champion.
So much so that the Commonwealth lightweight title holder – who defends his crown against Manchester’s Michael Gomez at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena tonight – has even passed out under the severity of the torturous training regime he has undergone.
The man who has pushed him to the limit is renowned strength and conditioning coach Phil Richards.
The ex-army man has worked with big-name rugby union internationals such as Martin Corry and Andy Gomarsall, Swansea , Worcester, Wigan and Leicester rugby teams, Bolton Wanderers FC and a host of cricketers and Olympic athletes.
Richards, who also lectures golfers on the PGA Tour on getting in the right frame of mind, is full of admiration for his boxing charge.
He said: “I want to take him to uncomfortable places where he has never been before in his fights – places that I know he will be and when he is there he will know what to do. I have seen that this guy has a big, big heart. I only do it [push him that hard] every two or three weeks. I pick a moment and then I put him under so much pressure just to see how he reacts.
“These sessions are three times harder than his fights and that is good for his confidence. Once you have been pushed somewhere and been able to deal with it then you have the strategy to get out of a corner in a live situation.
“He has passed out in training for this fight. It was the intensity, or I like to call the brutality, of the work-out.
“And there have been other times when he has not come out of the dressing room for a couple of hours. He has sat there, head in hands, no doubt contemplating the meaning of life. People might look at Amir Khan and think he is really nice, but I can tell you he is as hard as nails.
Unbeaten Khan, 21, who aims to fight for his first world title by the end of the year, said: “Phil has made me do sessions and when I have finished them I don’t know where my head is.
“But it is good to feel like that because in a fight I know I will feel like that at some stage. I have never felt the pain or exhaustion that I feel with Phil.
“There have been some sessions that have been so tough, I wanted to hide in a corner because there were another five sessions to do.
“He takes you to an uncomfortable zone but I need to know how I feel when I am in it. I feel more focused than ever, stronger than ever, too.”
