Amir Khan says the last 12 months have been the worst year of his life as he aims to end a catastrophic run by beating Carlos Molina in a “make or break” fight.
The British light-welterweight faces the unbeaten American at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on Sunday (7.30am UAE time), knowing it is win or bust following two devastating defeats in a row.
Khan lost a controversial decision to Lamont Peterson a year ago before being stunned by Danny Garcia in a fourth-round stoppage on his next appearance.
The former two-time world champion has endured various problems outside of the ring too which have added to the strain.
“This year has probably been the worst of my life, losing my WBA world title, having those two def-eats and things that happened,” said Khan. “It’s been tough. It’s just about regrouping and redeeming myself.
“I have to win it if I want to move on to bigger and better things. “It’s one of the biggest fights of my life after everything that’s happened. Every fight is a big fight for me but this is one that I’m taking very seriously because, the way I see it, it’s a make or break fight. I need to win this fight to get back on the scene again. It can put me back on a winning streak and maybe a rematch against Garcia.”
Khan, 26, bristles at suggestions he would be staring at retirement should he lose against Molina. But he added: “If I get beaten it would put me back to European level. It would put me outside of that world-class level.
“I still believe I’m at world-class level and in the top 10 in the world, but it would push me right back down. It would be tough for me to make it back again because I’ve worked so hard to get into this position.
“But we don’t want to be in that situation and I’ve not thought about losing. “I know that as long as I stick to the gameplan and my instructions, then I’m not going to lose this fight.”
Promoter Oscar de la Hoya feels Khan remains one of the biggest draws in boxing. “The guy fights ‘til the end, whether he finishes on the short end or wins in spectacular fashion,” he said. “But also the losses are tremendous fights. Amir is the people’s champion.”
But de la Hoya said Molina was no pushover and the underdog warned: “We know Amir doesn’t like pressure fighters and whatever way we can make him uncomfortable, that’s what we’ll do. So expect an all-out war. We’re going to fight in my city, in LA, in the ‘hood. He can’t come to my ‘hood and beat me.”
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