AMIR KHAN insists he is focused on fighting Devon Alexander on Saturday despite much talk surrounding big fights in 2015 should he win.
Khan, who has been away from his family for seven weeks and did not celebrate his 28th birthday yesterday, has made sacrifices so he will be ready to fight Alexander.
He has sparred more than 160 rounds, and claims he has never felt better.
โAlexander is a very dangerous opponent and Iโm not looking past this fight,โ Khan said. โHe has a lot of tools and a lot of skills, heโs going to come in to the fight with a game plan, wanting to beat me but I think Iโm hungrier. Speed-wise heโs quick but I think Iโm quicker and when it comes down to power I think Iโm stronger as well, so it is going to be like a game of chess at times and at times it will be a fight. Iโve been watching a lot of videos of Alexander and in his last fight, against Jesus Soto Karass, he stood and fought, but with Soto Karass you see every punch coming, you can block and trade with him, and then he [Alexander] got beaten by Shawn Porter, my style is quicker and stronger, and we know what to do. Iโm going to stick with the game plan Virgil [Hunter] has given me and stay very calm. If we want to go to the next level up, we have to win this fight.
โFor the loser I donโt think he will ever get the chance to get that big superfight against the likes of Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather but this is boxing, anything can happen nowadays. If Chris Algieri gets the chance to fight against Pacquiao and someone gets one good win to get that big fight [it happens] but the one Iโm chasing is the Floyd fight. I canโt afford to make mistakes or get beat so itโs all about being smart, going with the game plan and following my path, and thatโs to fight the best out there.โ
He is not just talking up the fight. He knows he is in a strong position in the queue for big fights and claims heโs never been more ready.
โThis is such a massive fight for me,โ he continued. โIt shows how big it is that itโs at the MGM and topping the bill there, Iโm going to be focused and do what I do best, it will show what Iโm able to do with Virgil Hunter. I feel much better now than I did at 26 [years of age]. I feel stronger, healthier and fitter, Iโm in better shape, Iโm at a better weight and I feel naturally better. As I get older, it is not as easy to get fit or as strong so you have to work harder, train harder, diet to make weight easier so by doing those things Iโm only improving and starting to make myself a better fighter.โ
He nearly fought Alexander at light-welterweight but believes he is facing a different fighter now they have both moved up 7lbs to welterweight.
โHe stands there a little bit more,โ khan explained. โHe takes shots but he gives a lot back, he doesnโt move as much as he used to, heโs more static, throws a lot of shots and he kind of loads up on a lot of punches that I see. We just have to stick to our game plan and be smart in this fight and I think the jab, the lateral movement and the angles will be important in this fight.โ
He reckons it is important not just to win but โto win with finesseโ and believes Alexander might feel the pressure fighting in Las Vegas for the first time.
โHe has to win this fight,โ Khan said. โHeโs not really a big, big name where I think it would be hard for him to get a massive fight again if he loses. But this is boxing. Anything can happen. One fight changes everything.โ
Khan has this week spoken of being a family man and missing his daughter, who he has at least seen via Skype.
He says his little girl is now his motivation.
โI want her to grow up and be able to say, โMy dad was a great champion.โ Thatโs the biggest motivation, when your little girl goes to school and her friends say, โYour dad was a great fighter.โโ
He said he will not draw any timelines on how much longer he will fight for but will see how he feels. He attributes strength and conditioner Tony Brady with his new lease of life, as well as trainer Hunter, and heโs aware that he is one of a very few who hopes the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight doesnโt happen as he hopes to be in the frame to fight them.
โYes, say we win this fight in good fashion and then that happens I would be upset,โ he admitted, โbut Iโd just go back to the drawing board. Iโm still young, Iโd just go back to the drawing board. Iโve still got big names ahead of me and maybe if they do fight I could face one of them after that.โ
โMayweather probably wins [if he does fight Pacquiao]. Pacquiao is open a lot, he gets caught with a lot of shots. His workrate has dropped a lot, in my opinion. Age is going to get to you, youโre going to be old one day and you can see that age now. In Mayweather and Pacquiao. Theyโre still great fighters, the things they are doing most 25 year old canโt do.โ
Khan said comments made by Freddie Roach, that Pacquiao had dropped him in sparring several times when they were gymmates, were false. He denied that it had happened but said the Filipino could give him a harder nightโs work than Mayweather.
โHe could never say he got the better of me or outclassed me in a spar, let alone drop me,โ Khan said. โHe never got close to knocking me down. Stylistically I think Manny would give me a tougher fight than Mayweather. Styles make fights and I think Mayweather would be like a game of chess whereas Manny would be a fight where you have to throw a lot of shots and there would be a lot of pressure as well. But when you say power, Mannyโs not knocked anybody out for a long time, plus heโs gone up and down in weight and heโs got older and that can affect your power.โ
Could Khanโs near future include Kell Brook should the sportโs megafight eventually happen?
โIโm not saying no to it,โ he replied. โItโs probably something we will look at. We will see how Kell Brook comes back, he might not be ready after that injury to his leg so weโll see how he performs in his next fight. Then he knows exactly where he is, too. So that could be a possibility. Iโve got big fights ahead of me, big superfights.โ