Amir Khan wants to fight the winner of next week's world title clash between Manny Pacquiao and David Diaz if he disposes of Michael Gomez on Saturday.Khan, 21, defends his Commonwealth lightweight title in Birmingham on Saturday against Gomez, a former British super-featherweight champion.
Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao, one of the world's best pound-for-pound fighters, is challenging for David Diaz's WBC belt.
"Diaz and Pacquiao are great fighters, but I could beat them both," said Khan.
"I'm fighting in front of a 10,000 sell-out on Saturday night so I think I'm one of the main men in the division.
"I've got a high rating with the WBO no.2 and WBC no.4 and I feel I'm ready for a world title shot", Amir Khan said.
"And by the end of the year I'm not just going to be one of the main men, I'm going to be number one, everybody's going to be after me.
Manny Pacquiao, who has been mentioned as a possible opponent for Ricky Hatton, is a legend in his home country and has wins over Mexican greats Marco Antonio Barrera [twice], Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez on his record.
Nate Campbell, holder of the WBA, IBF and WBO belts, is also a target for Khan and promoter Frank Warren has already held talks with the American.
"I'd love to fight Campbell," said Khan, who is undefeated in 17 fights as a professional.
"But I can't get too far ahead of myself and I have to do a job on Gomez first on Saturday night."
Saturday's fight promises to be an explosive affair, and Khan's temporary trainer Dean Powell has warned his man not to get involved in a brawl with Gomez, who has predicted a "tear-up".
Powell said: "Gomez is going to bring a special kind of intensity to the fight. We all know how Michael Gomez likes to fight and we are fully prepared for what he's going to bring.
"Amir certainly doesn't need to get involved in World War Three with Gomez. But Gomez is going to have a big shock if he thinks he can shove Amir around the way he shoved Alex Arthur around."
The fight will be Khan's first working with Powell following the former Olympic silver medalist's split with Oliver Harrison last month.
It is also his last on terrestrial channel ITV and his current contract with Warren also comes to an end after Saturday night.
FYI - Behind Sports
No comments:
Post a Comment