Khan Rings in the New With Change of Trainer

An hour working out with the top American trainer Roger Mayweather, watched by the world's leading pound-for-pound fighter, his nephew Floyd Mayweather Jr, helped convince Amir Khan he had done the right thing in ditching his own trainer Oliver Harrison before his recent trip to Las Vegas to watch Joe Calzaghe defeat Bernard Hopkins.

Following the advice of his father, Shah, Khan split with Harrison after the recent victory over Martin Kristjansen, the 17th in his undefeated pro career. Harrison had been with the 21-year-old Commonwealth lightweight champion for three years, having first worked with Khan for his final amateur fight when he reversed the result of the 2004 Olympic lightweight final by defeating the Cuban Mario Kindelan.

"It was amazing having Floyd there watching me work with his uncle," said Khan. "He was telling me what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong. I was on the pads with Roger Mayweather for at least an hour. Floyd said I had speed and power but helped me with my skills, with defensive stuff. He got me moving my hips. In an hour, I'd learned something new."

Harrison had been publicly critical of some of Khan's preparations before his recent fights, and had voiced his worries that Khan had been fulfilling too many public engagements and attending too many press conferences.

The issue came to a head when Harrison declined to attend the final press conference before the Kristjansen fight, when he would normally have been expected to make himself available for interviews. According to Shah Khan, Harrison has not been in contact with any member of his family - including Amir - since the night of the fight.

Shah Khan denied there was a dispute over money, saying: "There were problems behind the scenes but you have ups and downs in any business. These should be resolved by talking round the table, which is what we tried to do, but Oliver has not replied to my phone calls or my texts."

Harrison was unavailable for comment last night but his replacement in the job of training Khan, the promoter Frank Warren's regular corner-man and matchmaker Dean Powell, said he had spoken with Harrison yesterday and that there were no hard feelings. Powell will take charge of preparations for Khan's next fight, at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on June 21.

Khan's family are keen on employing a leading American trainer to supervise his preparations in the future, but how that might work in practice is less clear. Khan has said he would not be prepared to base himself in the US, which would almost certainly rule out an involvement with the Mayweather gym or the Los Angeles operation of Freddie Roach.

Another possibility is Powell taking over Khan's UK training on a permanent basis but would depend on Khan signing a new agreement with Warren when his present contract - along with his six-fight deal with ITV - ends after the next fight. Warren, who enjoys an amicable relationship with Shah Khan, is in pole position to clinch a new deal but an insider in the Khan camp said: "We will be talking to all interested parties and hearing what they say before we make any decision."