Amir Khan and Carlos Molina discuss December fight, Khan not taking prospect lightly

When it was announced yesterday that Amir Khan would be facing Carlos Molina in December, the majority of people reacted one of two ways.

"Easy bounce-back for Khan, and (he deserves that) / (it's a safe fight)."

Khan (26-3, 18 KO) has fought top contenders over his career, and whatever else you might say about him, there's no denying he's kept a solid schedule at worst. Some feel like an easy fight after two tough losses is deserved. Others just feel like it's a safe get-well fight.

"How will he fight Carlos Molina? What weight will they be fighting at, anyway?"

This came from people who don't know who lightweight prospect Carlos Molina is, and thought Khan was fighting junior middleweight contender Carlos Molina.

No matter the case, the fight's official, even though all the details aren't set yet -- it could be on December 1 or 15, and will be televised by Showtime either way -- and it's what Khan has lined up. It's not Khan's biggest or toughest challenge, but he tells the Daily Star that he's not taking it lightly:

"I could have picked an easy fight but I’m going to have a tough one next because I want to bring the world titles back to Britain."

Khan also says he hopes the fight will be in the United Kingdom, but that doesn't seem likely at the moment, even though it would make the most sense money-wise, apart from sticking this fight on the Cotto-Trout undercard at Madison Square Garden in New York on December 1. As a headliner in the States, it won't draw anywhere.

Molina (17-0-1, 7 KO) is actually older than Khan by a little bit, but he's been in with nowhere near the same type of competition, he's undersized (5'6"), and he's not a top prospect, rather a solid young fighter still lacking notable wins. For his part, telling WBN he's coming to win:

“I am just going to fight my fight and give Khan hell and I know I will come out victorious in the fight. Beating Khan will open the doors to a world title for me and bigger opportunities in the future. ...Khan fought two solid opponents in Garcia and Peterson and came up short, but there will be no break for him and the same will happen when he fights me."

In reality, nobody's going to give Molina any chance to win this fight, and I'm certain he and his team know that. But this is the opportunity of a lifetime for Molina -- it's far from a guarantee that had he continued on his prospect path, he ever would have received this sort of offer again. Things could have faltered well before he was offered a fight like this. He's jumping at least two or three levels with this, and it's going to be one serious task for him to even be competitive, let alone pull the upset.

At least they're saying the right things. I have no major problem with this fight, but it is what it is: It's Amir Khan taking a soft touch, working with trainer Virgil Hunter for the first time, and kind of hitting the reset button on his career. When Breidis Prescott knocked him out in 2008, he did the same type of thing, hiring a new trainer (Freddie Roach) and fighting Oisin Fagan in his next fight, after which he moved on to worn-out fighter/notable name Marco Antonio Barrera.

Say, about that Hatton-Khan idea...