By Keith Idec
Phil Lo Greco’s resume might not suggest he’ll upset Amir Khan, but the colorful Canadian sure knows how to promote a fight.
Lo Greco mocked Khan’s reputation as an attention-starved celebrity after their welterweight fight, scheduled for April 21 in Liverpool, England, was announced Monday. Khan’s opponent went as far as to compare him to the Kardashians, the polarizing American family infamous for seeking attention in any way possible.
“I’d like to thank Eddie Hearn, Sam Watson, Al Haymon, and of course, the entire ‘Khandashian’ family for letting your daughter come out and play,” Lo Greco said. “I’m happy Amir has decided to yank up his skirt and end his long-going tea party. It was time he manned up. I’ve got a full training camp this time around. There will be no room for error. Amir Khan will be knocked out.”
England’s Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) hasn’t fought since Canelo Alvarez knocked him unconscious in the sixth round of their WBC middleweight title fight in May 2016 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Khan has become more known since losing to Alvarez for well-publicized drama wife his wife and family, an X-rated Skype scandal and for appearing late last year on the British reality show, “I’m A Celebrity.”
The 31-year-old Khan hopes to revive his boxing career with a new three-fight deal he signed earlier this month with British promoter Eddie Hearn, his former adversary, and Sky Sports. Toronto’s Lo Greco (28-3, 15 KOs) has promised to end Khan’s comeback before it really gets going.
“Boxing is a very serious sport,” Lo Greco said. “I don’t wish any bad health on anybody. But when you’ve been hurt like [Khan was against Alvarez], it stays in your mind. I know that for a fact because me, I’ve been laid off for so long, me going back into the ring, it stays on my mind.
“Boxing is like a video game. Do you remember watching ‘Street Fighter?’ I used to play ‘Street Fighter’ all the time. What happens? You run out of lives. Amir Khan has run out of lives. He cannot reinvent himself anymore. You run out of lives. And that’s what happened. That’s what’s gonna happen April 21st. He’s gonna run out of lives.”
Lo Greco, 33, is a big underdog against Khan. In the two toughest fights of his career, IBF welterweight champ Errol Spence Jr. (23-0, 20 KOs) stopped Lo Greco in the third round and former IBF welterweight champ Shawn Porter (28-2-1, 17 KOs) easily out-boxed him en route to a 10-round, unanimous-decision win.
Lo Greco is confident, though, that his third shot at a well-known welterweight will produce a different result.
“What I’ve gotta do is be myself for once,” Lo Greco said. “I’ve always cut corners in training camp. The reason is I always had a lot of layoffs, never had the right team around me, never been ready. Now I’ve got three months to get ready. And I respect Eddie for giving me three months’ notice for this fight. It tells me that they’re very professional. They’re a very professional team and I wanna have some fun for once.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
