The moment Virgil Hunter saw Amir Khan walk in to the gym carrying his own kit bag was when the American trainer began to believe that his British boxer can spring one of the ring’s huge upsets.
Khan is a massive underdog for his world welterweight title challenge to the esteemed and undefeated Terence Crawford here at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.
Hunter believes part of the reason for a wide disparity in the betting odds is that, for a time, one of his most gifted fighters lost touch with reality. The sight of Khan pitching up for training with his bag over his shoulder and alone, without any of his old entourage, has altered that perception.
Trainer Virgil Hunter is confident Amir Khan's new humility can help him spring a surprise
‘Amir is insanely talented,’ says Hunter. ‘But I think he had too much too soon. He used to come to the gym surrounded by friends and distractions. Now he comes just with his gear.
‘If you carry your own bag in this game, you are your own person. He’s found himself now and we’re going into the Garden to win; to surprise one of the top two pound-for-pound fighters in the world today.’
Khan’s reaction to his trainer’s assessment is fascinating: ‘Wow, did Virgil really just say that as I walked in? Well, carrying the bag is a symbol.’
He acknowledged how some of the excesses of a fabulously enriched youth provoked public criticism — but now he has found humility.
The 32-year-old is a massive underdog to the esteemed and undefeated Terence Crawford
In his maturity, at 32, he takes a wry look back at how he became a teenage millionaire on the back of winning his Olympic silver medal in 2004, then quickly found further fame and fortune as a two-time world champion.
‘Maybe until five or six years ago I was the kid who had everything very young,’ says Khan. ‘But now I’ve seen a big change in my attitude.’
The young Khan ran into trouble with the police for his high-speed driving and he says: ‘Looking back I wonder why I did some things.
‘But I’d signed a big money contract at the age of 19. I like cars and watches and suddenly I was able to afford them.
‘At such a young age it can get to you. I might have
