/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/1542288/GYI0062726686.jpg)
After blaming the judges, the referee, and the hometown fans for his loss, it seems that Khan is ready shoulder just a bit of the blame. In an interview with Kevin Francis of The Daily Star, Khan started to admit that he didn't fight the perfect fight.
"I know the little mistakes I have made and I will get rid of them. I learnt the hard way against Breidis [Prescott] and changed. That was a good thing that happened to me then and was a wake-up call. This is another one. This is only going to make me work harder. I know I won the fight and it's going to motivate me to work harder in the gym. It's about how you come back from these kind of setbacks. Things happen for a reason and I am maturing. I am just 25 now and maybe when I'm 26, I will be fully matured. I will get this fight (rematch) out of the way and then move up to 147lbs."
While it is not a complete mea culpa, it is certainly better than blaming everyone else for his loss. Khan made mistakes and in this statement he does admit to them. I like the tenacity and the will that Khan has to get better but you have to ask why he needs to have these setbacks in order to do so. Why does he have to major defeats in the ring in order to have the will to make major changes? I love Khan's hand speed and I love Khan's power. However all of his physical gifts will not make up for his lack of ring IQ.
It was almost costly against Marcos Maidana with a 10th round that tested Khan's chin and could have cost Khan the fight. At the time, it was almost a joke. Khan likes to test himself according to Roach, but it is more than that. It is a massive ego that takes control of him, and does not let go. Once Khan learns to control his ego, he can take the next step to superstardom. In the meantime, he needs more humbling experiences to learn to abandon his childish demeanor.