Amir Khan Can Benefit From Kotelnik Venue Switch
By Terence Dooley
Amir Khan, 22, should not feel too disappointed over the postponement of his WBA world title showdown against Andrei Kotelnik, 31. The fight was originally due to take place at London’s O2 Arena on the 27th of June, it will now take place at Manchester’s MEN arena on the 18th of July, after Kotelnik pulled out of the first date with a tooth infection.
The venue switch presents Khan with the perfect opportunity to brush aside the ghost of last September's shocking defeat to Bredis Prescott. Amir's world was ripped apart in a single round by Bredis in the MEN ring, and Khan has not really had a chance to put that shocker to one side.
Sure, Amir defeated Marco Antonio Barrera at the MEN in March, yet the fight itself was unsatisfactory. Marco suffered a deep gash on his forehead, the fight should have been stopped early, only for Barrera to be deemed fit to continue throughout the early rounds.
Marco was declared no longer fit to continue at the very point in the fight when it could be taken to the cards, round five, a stoppage in any previous round would have seen the bout declared a No Contest. Amir's Technical Decision win satisfied few people outside of Team Khan, and left the MEN crowd frustrated.
Ukrainian stylist Kotelnik will present Khan with a stiff test, a WBA title belt in a weakened division, and, importantly, a chance to show the Manchester fans the improvements that Freddie Roach has made to Khan's style.
Kotelnik has had some success against British boxers, most notably when hammering Gavin Rees to defeat in the twelfth round of their WBA title contest. Andrey also took Junior Witter the distance in an EBU title fight, losing by the narrowest of margins, in a fight many thought he had won.
Since winning his title Kotelnik has defeated Norio Kimura and Marcos Rene Maidana. Both of these men troubled Kotelnik with their hand speed, good news for Khan. However, as the fights progressed Andrey used his jab to negate the speed of his opponent, and then landed accurate, and stiff, blows, bad news for Khan.
Amir has shown improvement under the guidance of Freddie Roach. Once absurdly easy to hit, Khan is now using his backward movement to avoid putting his chin in the firing line, when he does move into range he flurries furiously, off-setting his opponent with his blinding hand speed.
Roach quickly, and effectively, assessed Khan's ability, and is turning Amir into a rounded fighter.
Still, Khan's chin is always going to give his fans palpitations, on the 18th of July we will find out whether promoter Frank Warren has made another brilliant move, or if he has put his most high profile fighter in too deep.
Khan told the BBC that he is 'delighted' that the fight is still on, he is also 100% ready for the task ahead of him, he said: "Freddie Roach is adjusting my training accordingly so that I'm ready for the new date and I'm at my peak both physically and mentally."
When pressed on the arena switch Amir told the BBC that he is looking forward to headlining in Manchester once again, as he explained: "I had a great night at the MEN Arena against Barrera last time out and now I aim to win the world title against Kotelnik there, too."
A win will cap a remarkable comeback for Khan, from zero to hero in less that a year, the fighter who was gone in sixty seconds versus Prescott could become the man to beat at light-welterweight, and lay some ghosts to rest in the process.
Information on tickets, including information on using tickets for the original date, can be found on www.frankwarren.tv or by telephoning the Frank Warren Promotions Box Office on 01992 550 888 e-mailing tonyvincent@frankwarren.tv or from all ticket outlets and agents.
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