AMIR Khan has returned from Los Angeles as a vastly-improved boxer... if somewhat smaller.

That was the verdict of Manchester warrior Michael Gomez, who has been sparring Khan ahead of the Bolton ace's comeback against Oisin Fagan on Saturday night.

"I've had two sparring sessions with Amir since he got back from LA, and I have to say there has been a massive improvement," says Gomez, who pushed Khan hard when they met for real in the summer.

"I think it's interesting that Amir also wanted to spar me, because he admits I gave him one of his toughest fights.

"It's a good sign, that he doesn't want easy sparring. But he also seemed to be thinking about his game more."

One thing trainer Freddie Roach has tried to do with Khan is re-focus on his biggest assets, of speed and sharpness of punching.

And Gomez says that was evident when he climbed into the ring at Khan's gym in Bolton.

Speed

"He looked nowhere near as big as he did when I fought him five months ago," said Gomez, himself primed for a Commonwealth title shot early in the New Year. "His hand speed has always been phenomenal, but he seems to have an edge with it now as well.

"I believe he has stopped doing weights in his preparation, and he looks quicker for it."

The one imponderable, and maybe the one thing that Roach could not train into the eager Khan, is punch resistance.

And Gomez, who himself decked Khan, and later predicted he would hit trouble as soon as he came up against a hard-hitting lightweight, says that will only be tested in the ring.

"No-one can tell what his chin is like in sparring, because you don't let it all go," he said.

Three months after Gomez's prediction, Khan came unstuck against Breidis Prescott, sacked trainer Jorge Rubio after one contest and headed for the Hollywood gym of top trainer Roach. Khan believes Roach has resurrected his career.

But Gomez has benefited from the sessions as well, as he prepares for a fight in Glasgow against an opponent yet to be named, on December 21.

"Frank Warren has offered me a fight after Christmas against Ricky Burns for the Commonwealth title," says Gomez, a two-time British champion.

"I'd love that, going up to Glasgow to fight Ricky for that title, just like I went to Edinburgh and upset the odds to beat Alex Arthur for the British title in 2003."

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