06-May-2012
Boxing star Amir Khan faces Lamont Peterson in Las Vegas on May 19 in a rematch he has to win
By Bilal Hussain
What do Amir Khan and darts’ glamour girl Anastasia Dobromyslova have in common? Well both of them have trained at the British boxer’s impressive gym in Bolton, England. But perhaps that’s where the similarities end. While the Russian starlet commands a global fan following among darts fans, Amir Khan has made a name for himself in a much more action-packed sport — boxing.
The young Amir, who is of Pakistani-origin, is currently planning to get ready to take on Lamont Peterson in Las Vegas on May 19 in a much-awaited rematch after losing the WBA and IBF titles to the American in a controversial loss in Washington DC last December. 
At 5’ 8”, the 26-year-old Amir is not a big boxer. But he has been jousting with much bigger opponents in training in Manila for the last several days as his coach — Freddie Roach — is pushing him really hard. Amir is also intensively studying his Peterson’s technique ahead of a fight he is determined to win.
“Freddie has been going through things step by step on how we are going to approach the rematch with Peterson,” Amir said in a recent interview.
“I’ve been working on a lot of things to help minimise the threats posed by him. As I mentioned previously we’ve gone through the video of the fight and dissected it bit by bit and I’ve seen the mistakes I made in the first fight and know that I won’t be falling into any of those traps again.
“Sparring for this fight has been excellent and I’m taking on a lot of bigger guys who are similar to Peterson in order to prepare for me for this fight. During sparring you get a real indication of where you are at and I’m pleased to say that it’s gone really well and Freddie is happy with what he has seen.”
Amir has set all other commitments aside as he prepares for the big fight.
“I’m really focused for this fight and am not looking beyond Peterson and May 19th. This camp has been one of my most secluded and private to date,” he stressed. “I’ve just got my head down and trained hard and have not done the amount of media work I usually do during my camps.
“This fight will be different to the last one and I’m aiming to produce the stoppage this time round,” said Amir, who protested last December’s decision. He and his team termed the verdict as controversial, as the boxer was deducted two points for ‘excessive pushing’,” which eventually played a factor in his points loss. A rematch was eventually ordered.
Peterson, however, doesn’t believe Amir stands a chance of winning the rematch.
“I’ve got a rematch going on with Khan. I want to get that out of the way for myself,” Peterson, who stunned Amir in their previous fight, said in an interview last week.
“I won the big fight, but that’s not it... I always wanted to be in a rematch,” he said. “I just want to go out there and show that I can pretty much do anything to win.”
“I just think that I’ll control the fight. He can come up with any game plan that he wants, but I’m the better fighter and I’ll make adjustments. I’ll control the fight and I’ll win the fight,” Peterson said.
“If it comes down to a knockout, then I’ll win by knockout. If it’s a decision, then I’ll be winning a decision,” he added. “I just know that I’ll control the fight all the way through and I’ll be the winner.”
Meanwhile, an even tougher rival is also eyeing Amir’s scalp. Floyd Mayweather is planning to make mincemeat of the Bolton fighter after serving a jail sentence.
The unbeaten American begins a 90-day jail term on June 1, after being found guilty back in December of assaulting his former partner. Mayweather will return to action this autumn has said that Amir tops his wanted-list.
Amir’s corner believes their boy is just two fights away from a mouth-watering clash with Mayweather.
Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions — the company that looks after Amir — believes the youngster is more skilled that Manny Pacquiao.
“Assuming all goes well and he wins against Peterson, he then moves up to welterweight,” Schaefer was quoted as saying in an interview. “But I am not so sure if the first fight will be against Floyd, because at that weight it may not be the smartest thing to do.
“In a perfect world, I’d like Amir to have one fight at that weight before fighting Mayweather — but if that fight presents itself we would discuss it. Amir is better than what we saw in most of the last fight with Peterson. His skill level is superior to any fighter with the exception of Mayweather.
“He is one of the most talented and skilled fighters but he needs to apply those skills.”
Amir will certainly have to do that on May 19 when he gets the chance to avenge the December defeat and show the world that he is better than Peterson.
Since reaching the final of the lightweight event at the 2004 Athens Olympics where he lost to Cuba’s Mario Kindelan, Amir has come a long way and is regarded among the world’s most exciting boxers. In Pakistan, he has more fans than any other active boxer which is why the May 19 clash will certainly generate a lot of interest here. One hopes Amir won’t disappoint his fans.
bilalsports86@yahoo.com
Source: www.thenews.com.pk |
