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The rise of Amir Khan has been a meteoric one.
At just 17 the young fighter picked up a silver in the 2004 Athens Olympic games only losing to Mario Kindelan in the finals. Khan would not let the defeat go unavenged and in his final fight in the unpaid ranks he defeat Kindelan. Khan carried his obvious talent and star power on into the professional ranks blazing a trail at lightweight winning the Commonwealth Lightweight title as well as the WBA International Lightweight Championship and the WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight Championship.
A loss to Colombian Breidis Prescott momentarily halted his career but after a change of trainer, joining Freddie Roach’s Wildcard gym, he bounced back beating Oisin ***an and Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera before moving up to junior welterweight and comprehensively out boxing Andreas Kotelnik to take his WBA title.
In the first defence of his title Khan blew away Dimitry Salita in 76 seconds and now in his second defence and on his US debut he takes on the brash former IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi.
I had a chat with Khan to discuss the fight, his preparation and his future amongst other things.
Chudi Onwuazor: How is the training going? What is it like working with Freddie Roach after all this time?
Amir Khan: Training is going perfect, Freddie is the best trainer in the world and I’m learning new things everyday, we have a great bond and we enjoy working with each other.
C.O: Any word on your sparring? I hear you have been doing some rounds with highly touted prospect Jose Benavidez, what’s that like?
A.K: Sparring is always tough at the Wildcard and that’s the way it should be. I’ve been sparring with quite a few guys, and Jose is one of them. He is a great talent for his age, fast and very strong, there are over 60 people in the gym watching me spar three times a week, it’s very exciting and there is a lot of action.
C.O: You and Malignaggi have given each other a bit of needle over Twitter, any reason why it’s been so personal?
A.K: Paulie will never shut up! He likes to talk but that’s him and I enjoy the banter. We are both exciting fighters and a lot of people are looking forward to this fight.
C.O: You fought a patient and measured fight against Kotelnik but completely blitzed Salita, how will you approach Malignaggi?
A.K: Every fight you will see a different Amir Khan but still exciting to watch. Against Kotelnik I did what I had to do, win all twelve rounds and the world title was mine. Against Salita I showed I can finish any opponent off when I get the chance. For Paulie we have prepared very well and what I will say is he is in for a big surprise!
C.O: Obviously this fight is meant to be your coming out party in America and on HBO, do you feel any pressure to perform?
A.K: The pressure will always be there, but the hunger to beat someone in their hometown drives me on and that will always overcome the pressure. I’ve been in these situations before when I was younger and I coped perfectly. Now I’m a lot more mature now and mentally focused and it all adds up to me achieving my goal of being the next big thing in boxing.
C.O: Assuming you do win, the 140 pound division is very deep who is next for you?
A.K: The likes of Maidana, Bradley, Alexander, Ortiz etc. It’s an exciting division, some great fights are going to be made, I will fight any one of those guys and I will be ready. The fight has been called off now, but I would have loved to have faced the winner of Maidana vs Bradley.
Quick Questions
C.O: What was your proudest moment?
A.K: Winning my World title
C.O: Best fight you’ve seen?
A.K: Pacquiao vs Morales
C.O: Best fighter you have faced?
A.K: Mario Kindelan. He beat me in the Olympic final and I beat him in the rematch 6 months later. He was the Mayweather of amateurs.
In the pros ? It has to be Kotelnik. I fought him in the fight after he beat Maidana. I was nervous moving up a weight and he was tough and properly pushed me. I must of thrown 1000 punches in the fight!
C.O: Anything to say to your fans?
A.K: The fans are great, they push me further and I do it all for them. I want to thank each and every one of them, I appreciate their support and respect. I wake up sometimes thinking I want to stay in bed and skip the run but then I think of my following/fans, they motivate me.
So stay tuned because on May 15th it’s time to shut Paulie up for good!
Here at Boxing Fancast we would like to thank Amir Khan for taking time out of his busy training schedule to do this interview. We wish him the best of luck on May 15th and you can catch the fight on HBO in the States and on ITV in the UK.
If you have Twitter you can keep up to date with Khan by following his personal page @amirkingkhan and you can keep up to date with us by following @Boxing_Fancast.
At just 17 the young fighter picked up a silver in the 2004 Athens Olympic games only losing to Mario Kindelan in the finals. Khan would not let the defeat go unavenged and in his final fight in the unpaid ranks he defeat Kindelan. Khan carried his obvious talent and star power on into the professional ranks blazing a trail at lightweight winning the Commonwealth Lightweight title as well as the WBA International Lightweight Championship and the WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight Championship.
A loss to Colombian Breidis Prescott momentarily halted his career but after a change of trainer, joining Freddie Roach’s Wildcard gym, he bounced back beating Oisin ***an and Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera before moving up to junior welterweight and comprehensively out boxing Andreas Kotelnik to take his WBA title.
In the first defence of his title Khan blew away Dimitry Salita in 76 seconds and now in his second defence and on his US debut he takes on the brash former IBF junior welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi.
I had a chat with Khan to discuss the fight, his preparation and his future amongst other things.
Chudi Onwuazor: How is the training going? What is it like working with Freddie Roach after all this time?
Amir Khan: Training is going perfect, Freddie is the best trainer in the world and I’m learning new things everyday, we have a great bond and we enjoy working with each other.
C.O: Any word on your sparring? I hear you have been doing some rounds with highly touted prospect Jose Benavidez, what’s that like?
A.K: Sparring is always tough at the Wildcard and that’s the way it should be. I’ve been sparring with quite a few guys, and Jose is one of them. He is a great talent for his age, fast and very strong, there are over 60 people in the gym watching me spar three times a week, it’s very exciting and there is a lot of action.
C.O: You and Malignaggi have given each other a bit of needle over Twitter, any reason why it’s been so personal?
A.K: Paulie will never shut up! He likes to talk but that’s him and I enjoy the banter. We are both exciting fighters and a lot of people are looking forward to this fight.
C.O: You fought a patient and measured fight against Kotelnik but completely blitzed Salita, how will you approach Malignaggi?
A.K: Every fight you will see a different Amir Khan but still exciting to watch. Against Kotelnik I did what I had to do, win all twelve rounds and the world title was mine. Against Salita I showed I can finish any opponent off when I get the chance. For Paulie we have prepared very well and what I will say is he is in for a big surprise!
C.O: Obviously this fight is meant to be your coming out party in America and on HBO, do you feel any pressure to perform?
A.K: The pressure will always be there, but the hunger to beat someone in their hometown drives me on and that will always overcome the pressure. I’ve been in these situations before when I was younger and I coped perfectly. Now I’m a lot more mature now and mentally focused and it all adds up to me achieving my goal of being the next big thing in boxing.
C.O: Assuming you do win, the 140 pound division is very deep who is next for you?
A.K: The likes of Maidana, Bradley, Alexander, Ortiz etc. It’s an exciting division, some great fights are going to be made, I will fight any one of those guys and I will be ready. The fight has been called off now, but I would have loved to have faced the winner of Maidana vs Bradley.
Quick Questions
C.O: What was your proudest moment?
A.K: Winning my World title
C.O: Best fight you’ve seen?
A.K: Pacquiao vs Morales
C.O: Best fighter you have faced?
A.K: Mario Kindelan. He beat me in the Olympic final and I beat him in the rematch 6 months later. He was the Mayweather of amateurs.
In the pros ? It has to be Kotelnik. I fought him in the fight after he beat Maidana. I was nervous moving up a weight and he was tough and properly pushed me. I must of thrown 1000 punches in the fight!
C.O: Anything to say to your fans?
A.K: The fans are great, they push me further and I do it all for them. I want to thank each and every one of them, I appreciate their support and respect. I wake up sometimes thinking I want to stay in bed and skip the run but then I think of my following/fans, they motivate me.
So stay tuned because on May 15th it’s time to shut Paulie up for good!
Here at Boxing Fancast we would like to thank Amir Khan for taking time out of his busy training schedule to do this interview. We wish him the best of luck on May 15th and you can catch the fight on HBO in the States and on ITV in the UK.
If you have Twitter you can keep up to date with Khan by following his personal page @amirkingkhan and you can keep up to date with us by following @Boxing_Fancast.
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