Amir Khan will fight Mexican legend and former multi-weight world champion Marco Antonio Barrera on March 14 in the UK, it was confirmed by promoter Frank Warren today.

Many believed that Khan, 22, would be brought back slowly after suffering a shock defeat against Breidis Prescott in September.

Although come-back foe Oisin Fagan was dismantled in two rounds and didn't pose too many problems, Barrera is a massive step up for the 2004 Olympic silver medallist - and a huge gamble.

But Warren - who has built a reputation on picking the right fights at the right time for his charges - insisted that Khan was ready for the fight.

Barrera, 34, is certainly past his considerable prime, and in 2007 lost back-to-back fights against Juan Manuel Marquez and Manny Pacquiao at super-featherweight.

However neither of those world class opponents could stop him, and in November last year, Barrera returned to action with a win at lightweight in China against unknown Sammy Ventura.

A "big four" title holder at super-bantamweight, featherweight and super-featherweight, Barrera is a veteran of more than 20 world title fights.

Last year, he was linked to a fight against another of Warren's stable, Alex Arthur, but that contest failed to materialise.

Barrera's overall record is 64-6 with 43 stoppages, and only one of his losses has come early, ironically against Khan's sparring partner Pacquiao in 2003.

Best remembered for his trilogy against fellow Mexican Erik Morales, Barrera is a stalwart of huge PPV cards in the States, famously inflicting a first career defeat on Naseem Hamed.

No stranger to the UK, Barrera beat Paul Lloyd in a round in 1999 in a WBO super-bantamweight title defence.

When the Baby Faced Assasin turned professional in 1989, Khan was just out of nappies, and he admits that Barrera was one of his heroes when he was growing up.

Now 19-1 (15), his career was progressing well until he ran into Prescott at the MEN Arena, suffering a loss inside 54 seconds.

Yet it wasn't the first time that Khan had been on the floor as a professional - Michael Gomez, Rachid Drilzane and Willie Limond had also put him over, and his chin will once again come under scrutiny ahead of the Barrera fight.

No venue has been confirmed for the mouth-watering showdown, although Warren did say that it would take place in the UK.

Khan will benefit from having the input of Freddie Roach, who helped guide Pacquiao to those two wins over Barrera.

Having worked with Roach ahead of the Fagan fight, Khan will fly to California this weekend for a second spell in the Wildcard Gym.

Sky Sports will televise the card - more big fights will be announced at a later date - while American television are also expected to become involved in the promotion.