Amir Khan (34-5, 21 KOs) has told Boxing Scene that he believes his next fight will take place early next year.
The former WBA and IBF super lightweight champion has made two appearances in 2019 but now plans to enjoy the rest of the year with his family before returning to training in 2020.
With a W1 L1 record this year against Terence Crawford and Billy Dib respectively - the Brit believes that next year will provide more big fights and possibly once again in some more unique corners of the boxing world.
“Fighting in Saudi Arabia [against Dib] helped me in the Middle East to get my name out there and it was a full house, and there’s talk about Dubai, talks about Saudi Arabia again, talks about doing something big there.
“There’s a few options out there for me. I’m at a stage in my career where every fight is big, so I have to make sure I’m taking the right fight at the right time and I think it’s the right time for me to take the Manny Pacquiao or Kell Brook fight.”
Khan is no stranger to the big stage or big fights and had some memorable nights fighting at 140lbs which began when he boxed Andriy Kotelnik for the WBA world title in 2009 at the Manchester Arena. ‘King Khan’ would be crowned after a near shut-out win against the Ukrainian.
Just over ten years on and another Brit, currently the IBF super lightweight champion, Josh Taylor, has another huge occasion to look forward to against WBA champion Regis Prograis at London’s O2 Arena on October 26, live on Sky Box Office. On paper it looks like one of the fights of the year and Khan is tipping his fellow Brit to walk away with the two belts if he stays one step ahead of his opponent on the night.
“I like Josh Taylor. I watched him in the Commonwealth Games a long time ago. He’s a very good fighter. He trains very hard. I seen him train a long time ago in Scotland. He’s got good hands, good movement. I think he’ll win. Prograis is a come forward pressure fighter, a slick boxer, very powerful. I think Josh has to stay away from him, box him and be smart. Josh likes to get into a tear-up sometimes but he needs to stick to his boxing, be smart, hit and move. It’s a difficult fight for him. Even though he might feel he is stronger than him and the better fighter, he just needs to stick to what he knows best and I think if he boxes him and keeps away and be smart in there, like I did against Kotelnik, I think he can get the win and become unified champion.”
After fighting in some of the biggest arenas in the U.K and iconic venues in America like Madison Square Garden and the MGM Grand Khan knows exactly what Taylor will be going through on the night as the star attraction. It didn’t take long for Khan to become a pay-per-view name in Britain and October 26 will be the first time that Taylor is headlining such a card. Khan says that the Scot can’t let the occasion get to him.
“He has to stay focused and look at it as a normal fight. Don’t let the occasion get to him because that’s when mistakes can be made. Him fighting in the U.K can still bring a lot of pressure on him. Josh needs to keep his nerves calm, smart and calm himself and just do what he does in any other fight. Being on pay-per-view he’s headlining on the big stage. This is the fight that’s going to put him on the map and get his name out there as well.”