DON'T LET RICKY HATTON FIGHT AGAIN
Khan and Warren warn Hitman
AMIR KHAN wants to ambush Ricky Hatton's comeback fight by getting his fists on Juan Manuel Marquez before his pal.
WBA light-welterweight champion Khan knows that defeating the Mexican superstar will help make him the next face of boxing, but it could cause a rift with 'The Hitman'.
Khan, 22, makes the first defence of his world crown against New Yorker Dmitry Salita at Newcastle's Metro FM Arena on Saturday, and will then turn his attention to the three-weight world champion.
Hatton is in talks to box Marquez next summer, but Khan's promoter Frank Warren dismisses that fight.
He told Sport of the World: "Hatton can get fit, lose weight but cannot avoid shots any more.
"He should be prevented from boxing anyone, let alone Marquez."
Concerns
Khan's gym-mate Manny Pacquiao brutally knocked out Hatton in May, and there are understandable concerns about him boxing again.
Khan told Hatton to set his sights lower than Marquez, adding: "I thought Ricky might come back and have one easy fight just to get rid of the flashbacks. Fighting Marquez straightaway will be tough.
"It is my mission to fight men like Marquez and that would be my dream fight in America.
"I think he is made for my style and if I beat Marquez, it would make my name a lot bigger and people will start knowing who Amir Khan is in the States."
Khan's desire to fight in America has led to speculation that he might quit Warren's stable, despite the promoter resurrecting his career after his sole loss to Breidis Prescott 15 months ago and making him a millionaire.
American promoters Golden Boy were smooching up to Khan recently in Las Vegas and Bob Arum was gushing in his praise.
Khan has also followed the lead of Hatton and formed his own promotional company, and plans to invest in upcoming boxers.
He says: "I will see how this fight goes and then we will see where we are.
"I think Joe Calzaghe and Ricky Hatton left it a bit late going to America but I want to go early, take it smoothly and pick the right fights."
Khan moved his training base to Freddie Roach's Wild Card gym in Hollywood after his 54-second loss to Colombian KO king Prescott.
Training in Tinseltown has been far from glamorous, but the sparring partners have been A-listers like Pacquiao and outrageously talented 17-year-old sensation Jose Benavidez.
Most nights Khan has gone to bed in agony having been involved in some of the hardest training imaginable under Roach and hard-line conditioner Alex Ariza.
Limit
Khan, who is considering living in Los Angeles permanently, said: "I go back to the apartment tired and suffering from muscle fatigue because I push myself to the limit.
"I am one of those fighters who treat sparring sessions like a fight and give my all. I'm not one who takes it easy and just gets through the rounds.
"It doesn't matter if I am sparring ten or 12 rounds, I will push myself so much that when I finish sparring I can't punch any more and I'm totally finished."
Roach admits: "We spar really hard and we fight. The only rule in my gym is if you hurt somebody, you don't finish them."
Salita, 27, is unbeaten in 31 fights - the only blemish a draw with Ramon Montana when the Jewish slugger was floored twice in the first round.
And although he is Khan's mandatory contender, Ukraine-born Salita hasn't beaten a world-class fighter and a quick-fire Khan win is possible.
Roach says: "Salita doesn't do anything special, but is good all round. I think our speed and power will be too much."
* Khan v Salita is live and in high definition on Sky Box Office on Saturday 5 December. To order the fight call: 08442 410 888. For tickets visit: www.metroradioarena.com
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This article has 17 comments
If Khan fights marquez then khan will get the same what marquez did with Diaz.When Marquez v/s Pacquiao 3 deal is done in 2010.Then Marquez will take it all.
By roger romero.. Posted November 30 2009 at 4:49 PM.
khan has done absolutely nothing to deserve his title , if he could fight as good as he has been managed then we would have one hell of a boxer on our hands ,its incredible the hype that this guy is given ,come on amir lets see you take on murray or prescott instead of no hopers.
By jon o b .. Posted November 30 2009 at 4:26 PM.
Khan has done well to dust himself off the floor, but look who he has done it against. Barrera was washed up and fighting at a weight that reflects his age.
Amir has lightning speed but he hasn't even fought the best lightweights in this country.
Salita is here to make Khan look good. To beat Amir you need speed or power at his weight. If Salita was a real threat then why are all the bookies making Khan a huge odds on favourite?
By Paul Foley.. Posted November 29 2009 at 7:13 PM.
khan has done nothing hatton beat by 2 ov the best.barrera lost to khan my arse they should have stop the fight after 1 round when it would have been a no contest but waited till end ov 4 so khan could no refunds etc.
By a.k.. Posted November 29 2009 at 5:21 PM.
I personally don't want to see Ricky fight again. He has earned his legacy and only lost to the very, very best. He also is financially very secure (from what I understand), but I think his all-action style may have caught up with him. That is not a criticism - it is a testament to his exciting style and I, for one, will always remember the many great nights he gave us boxing fans. That is how I want to remember him. Khan has yet to earn the right to challenge big-name fighters like this. Someone mentioned about him running away from Prescott, but he lost last time out, so right now, isn't a viable opponent for a world champion.
By Bryan Munich.. Posted November 29 2009 at 2:46 PM.
Don, how can you say Froch hasn't beaten anyone?
He beat Jean Pascal to win the WBC title and Pascal has went on to win the light heavyweight title. Pascal now looks if he's going to dominate the division.
Jermaine Taylor was undisputed middleweight champion for years and is younger than Froch. Again beat him, even though Froch got battered in the early part of the fight he still found a way to win. The same happened against Dirrell, found the tacticts to win.
Then look at his pre champ record, plenty of KO's and TKO's. He wasn't given a shot at the title for nothing the same way Khan was. He kept calling out Calzaghe who kept making excuses not to fight him. He's another overrated body swerver.
How can anyone say Khan deserved his shot at the title? badly beaten by Prescott then a champ two fights later. Look at how he struggled against rubbish domestic fighters, Willie Limond is the perfect example, knocked him on his backside and he is naturally a smaller man.
If anyone misunderstood my previous comments on Hatton then I'll make them clear. Hatton is the best British boxer of his generation. He fought the best to try to become pound for pound king and only came up short against the very best (remember 2 fighters).
Talk of Khan giving him a boxing lesson are rubbish he'd murder Khan. The only way Hatton would lose the fight were if he had a bad training camp. He came back after a bad result against Maywether and beat Malignaggi, who was highly rated. People said he was finished the but the win against Malignaggi proved he still had it. So it's now up to Hatton to decide if he wants to fight on, he might not be able to beat the very best but he'd be able to hold his own against the rest.
Let's get this clear, Froch is the best current British world champ. Khan is a well managed chump, who'll be used to milk gulable British fight fans of there PPV money. Hatton the best of his generation, not quite good enough for pound for pound king but more than capable of bursting Khan.
You may screaming out what about Haye? but there's another one who didn't do much for his shot. The Klitchko's will destroy him. And comparing him to Ali is an insult to the great man. Lewis would have KO'ed him with ease in 4-5 rounds.
By Rich Gardiner.. Posted November 29 2009 at 1:28 PM.
we all no hatton puts on weight when he is not in training but when he does train he does it to the extrame.khan is not in the same division as hatton if he says he's as good as he is why not fight murrey or a rematch with prescott to prove his self murrey would walk through khan.
By mick.. Posted November 29 2009 at 1:05 PM.
rich gardinersa - Carl Froch is pathetic, who has he fought ? all bums
wait till he gets in ring with proper boxer, he will be knocked out for good
By Don.. Posted November 29 2009 at 12:01 PM.
im not a fan of amir khan he's running scared of bredis presscot and his win over barrera flattered to decieve he was clearly past his best in his hayday khan could live with him
i for one am not fooled by khan he will be found out soon.
By martin.. Posted November 29 2009 at 11:41 AM.
I would suggest that Hatton should lost weight and train harder, we have seen the fight between him (Hatton) and Pacquiao, and I really felt for him ,it only takes two round, what a waste of money, watching him to be knocked down by a small Filipino, the trouble with him is he is too big for his shoes, he is so vain and egomaniac. Common Fatton train harder and have another go with Pacquiao, we will see whose going to win this time.
By liz Jackson.. Posted November 29 2009 at 9:19 AM.
What is the issue with everybody knocking Ricky Hatton. He has only lost to two of the greatest fighters of a generation. Don't try and dictate to a man who has given so much to this great sport. He is still a force to be reckoned with and would give khan a very hard fight and in my opinion khan would lose.
let's see where khan is after 5 or 6 fights against world class oponents.
Take it easy my friends
sed
By sed.. Posted November 29 2009 at 8:20 AM.
lets just give amir his brief moment of glory,,,he will be found out soon enough,,He will be earning his wages ring comentating soon ,,,after he is sparkeled by the 1st fighter who sticks it to his weak chin,,,,,,,,dont worry,,its heading his way
By peter mackin.. Posted November 29 2009 at 7:58 AM.
2 glass jaws, so what's frank saying... hatton has had better tests and is a better fighter so far... glass jaw magraw khan, fought no-one. bitter grapes warren....
By john mraz.. Posted November 29 2009 at 7:07 AM.
give it a rest khan talking yourself up you have a chin as strong as a 10 watt bulb
By gary whittaker.. Posted November 29 2009 at 7:05 AM.
heres a question, who are you to ask hatton not to fight again? Perhaps we, his fans..not you (the anti-hattons, that for some reason wont leave him alone when there are people that deserve your spit in the face more) who wont leave him alone when all he has wanted to do was be the good guy in boxing, not the bad guy that no body wants to hear from. Real nice.
By hinduw.. Posted November 29 2009 at 5:18 AM.
rich gardinersa in all honesty khan would give ricky hatton a boxing lesson of the highest order just like mayweather and paquiao did i would love to see the fight but it would expose hatton big time and i think he desserves better and to be remembred as a good british boxer i would hate to see ricky getting taken to the cleaners in such a destructive way by khan his legacy would be tarnished if ricky wants to make a comeback he should take on junior witter who has been calling out for hatton for years now but you do have to wonder why he will not take the fight?
By tony,kent.. Posted November 29 2009 at 2:48 AM.
Khan only wants to fight Marquez because he's a big name and he's past his best. He is also naturally lighter than Khan so his punches won't hurt him like a decent fighter in his own weight divsion would eg prescott(won't rematch him cause he'd get beat).
I say put him in with Hatton but he'd be knocked out in 5-6 rounds if Hatton was even 80% what he was against Maywether (again won't happen cause he'd get beat and lose people money).
Khan's one of the weakest champs in boxing and will fight a bunch of bums to pad his record. It'll be all hit and run. Then someone decent will spank him in his 6th or 7th defence.
Nowhere near the standard of current British champ Froch or past champions Eubank, Benn, Hamed, McKenzie and McGuigan.
By rich gardinersa.. Posted November 29 2009 at 1:52 AM.