By Mark Vester
WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan has compared the style of his next opponent, unbeaten Dmitriy Salita, to ex-champ Andreas Kotelnik. Khan defends against Salita on December 5 in Newcastle. Khan says the style of Salita is going to hurt him due to a suspect defense. Khan says Salita will provide him with the perfect fight to showcase his skills.
“He has a very similar style to Kotelnik, but his defense is not as good," Khan told Chronicle Live. "He’s going to get hit with shots he’s not seen and get hurt. I’ve seen videos and thought, ‘This is going to be the perfect fight for me’.”
Salita says he will not be intimidated by Khan or the crowd. He expects to receive some support from the British fans and doesn't see anything from Khan that worries him.
“British fans have shown me support throughout my whole career,” Salita said. “My early fights were shown here on television. The British publications have written articles about me from the beginning. The documentary about my career, ‘Orthodox Stance’, was shown on the BBC about a year-and-a-half ago. I guess I’ve been in the ear of British fans a long time."
“I hope they like what I do and support me for the rest of my career. It’s my first time in Newcastle, it’s a beautiful city. I’m sad we only stayed for a night. It will be our home for a few days before the fight. I’m looking forward to coming back. I’ve been in camps with some of the biggest names in boxing, so I won’t be intimidated by something I haven’t seen before.”
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