Amir Khan has spent most of his professional career in a huge rush to become world champion, but things are no longer so urgent. Teaming up with Jorge Rubio, his new trainer, has been an eye-opening experience for the 21-year-old, who has quickly discovered that there is plenty to learn, and he has the bruises to show it.

Becoming the trainer of a prospect such as Khan can be lucrative, so many would-be coaches may be keen to whisper him niceties. Not Rubio, a former coach with the Cuba team, who defected to the United States.

Rubio started by pointing out Khan's mistakes. “I thought I was everything,” Khan said. “But now meeting George [as Khan calls Rubio] and learning the things that I have never done before shows me how much I was behind and how much I was thinking too far ahead. He's taught me so much in eight weeks. In another two or three fights I'll be untouchable.”

The first test of their partnership comes at the MEN Arena in Manchester tomorrow, when Khan goes for win No19 against Breidis Prescott, an unbeaten Colombian with an impressive knockout record. Khan is not expecting Prescott to be able to lay a glove on him, partly because of the tough treatment Rubio has been giving him in training.

Part of the learning process has involved the 48-year-old trainer hitting Khan with his pads when he drops his hands. “I've never had a black eye or anything that bad, but there have been marks or scrapes when he's caught me,” Khan said. “I threw the jab and kept my hands down low. He whacked me with the pads, saying, 'What the hell are you doing? Keep your hands up.' But it was what came naturally, to keep the hands down and move out of range.

“It hurt and he's quick. He wouldn't hit me once, he would hit me until I stopped doing it. After a couple of weeks he would go to hit me and he would hit my gloves. That made me feel better, not just because he wasn't hitting me, but because I had begun to keep my hands up naturally.”

After splitting with Oliver Harrison in April, Khan was trained by Dean Powell for his bout against Michael Gomez in June before heading to the United States in search of a full-time trainer. Rubio was a surprise choice after Khan had worked out with some big names, including Freddie Roach, Roger Mayweather and Buddy McGirt. “We went to Miami, did a pads session and two training sessions with him and we gelled,” Khan, the Commonwealth lightweight champion, said. “I knew he could get me to the next level.

“I knew I wasn't the finished article and I know to this day that I'm not the finished article. I knew I was making mistakes, but I never had a coach who told me the mistakes I was making. Dean and Oliver didn't tell me the mistakes I was making, they were letting them ride. They told me the things I was doing right.”

Rubio was quick to criticise elements of Khan's technique. “Straight away he picked up on the bad points,” Khan said. “He was saying, 'Keep your hands up. If you don't keep your hands up, you're going to get caught. Keep your head moving or you'll be a sitting target.' When he first came to England, that was all we worked on. Then we started working on different combinations and it started flowing and I could tell the difference when I started sparring. Even though a lot of these guys were heavier than me, I was controlling them. I'm faster, I'm sharper and I'm hitting a lot harder than in my previous fights.”

So, for now the fast-track timetable has been forgotten. “I've been learning the trade,” Khan said. “I'm a quick learner, I'm young. As soon as I get comfortable with the style and stop making stupid little mistakes, I'll be perfect.”

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