by Phil D. Jay

Amir Khan’s new trainer Virgil Hunter has told WBN that a domestic battle between the former unified light-welterweight champion and the returning Ricky Hatton is a possibility in the future.

Hunter, who also trains super-middleweight king Andre Ward, takes the reigns from Freddie Roach in December for Khan’s first fight since his crushing loss to Danny Garcia in the summer as the Bolton man faces Carlos Molina in California.

The current Trainer of the Year was sought out by Khan following his arduous split from Roach and Hunter believes he has pin-pointed some of Khan’s wrongdoings, which have led to back-to-back defeats for the Briton.

“I felt that Amir Kahn without a doubt had a spacious canvas to work with and from observing his fights, I came to the conclusion that he can box, but that he didn’t have an understanding of boxing,” Hunter told World Boxing News.

The tactical coach went on to mention that Khan’s upcoming opponent Molina, who is predominantly a lightweight, was one of three choices that he suggested upon taking up the job offer last month. Hunter then responded to the burning question of whether he thinks a mouth-watering British fight with Ricky Hatton will happen on his watch.

“I’m quite sure if Ricky and Amir successfully roll forward that the fight will happen at some point,” stated Hunter. “Amir and Ricky are two pugilist that will present each other with a different set of problems. The fight outcome will come down to preparation and stamina.”

Last year represented a breakout year for Hunter as he led Andre Ward to the Super-Six title, before masterminding his knockout win over Chad Dawson, and the American admitted that he is a little taken aback by all the attention and adoration he now receives.

“It’s not like I have this big list of world class fighters to choose from,” he said. “However I am humbled and grateful for the young fighters who have sought me out.”

Khan tackles Molina on December 15th at the LA Sports Arena and all eyes will be fixed on whether Hunter can make the changes needed to elevate the ex-title holder back to top of the 140lb division.

Phil D. Jay covers boxing for worldboxingnews.net