By T.K. Stewart
Various reports emanating from Great Britain indicate that Amir Khan will announce this week that he has chosen Cuban trainer Jorge Rubio as his new chief second.
The rumor was that Khan was set to choose Buddy McGirt as his new trainer so it was surprising to many that the unknown Rubio won the "Amir Khan Sweepstakes" and will begin working with the young sensation.
Interesting note is that it was Rubio who once coached Cuban amateur Mario Kindelan, because it was Kindelan who ultimately beat Khan for the gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Khan settled for the silver medal.
Rubio and Khan are going to begin working with one another right away as Khan has a fight scheduled in six weeks on September 6th at the MEN Arena in Manchester. No opponent has yet been selected.
Khan is just 21 and had his first pro fight only three years ago. In that short time he has won the British Commonwealth lightweight championship and is the # 2 contender in the WBO ratings.
Many of the top trainers that Khan spoke to were interested in working with him, but the deal breaker was the fact that Khan wanted them to come to England to train him and all of the big name trainers weren't that eager to do that.
The long-term plan for Khan is to become a star in America and begin fighting here in the States. As a pro, Khan has not fought outside of the United Kingdom and like Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe, Khan is aware that he has to fight in America to become more widely known.
Khan just signed a new deal with England's biggest promoter, Frank Warren, and the plan is for Khan to have his debut fight in America before the end of this year, probably in December.
