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Boxing

Khan expecting toughest challenge yet against St Clair

01/02/2008

Amir Khan believes he needs a career-best performance tonight to beat Gairy St Clair.

The Olympic silver-medallist clashes with St Clair, who turns 33 today, at the ExCel Arena in London in his 16th professional fight.

Former IBF world featherweight champion St Clair has lost five times in his 46-fight career but has never been beaten inside the distance.

Khan, 21, said he is ready to fight for 12 rounds for the first time in his career.

"I've done 12 rounds in the gym a couple of times so I'm used to being in that zone," Khan said.

"He's better than any British fighter I could meet. It's a big challenge for me but that's what I like in boxing."

St Clair has gone the distance with world-class fighters including the late Diego Corrales and former WBA light-welterweight champion Vivian Harris.

Khan, the IBF inter-continental light-welterweight champion, said he was not expecting a repeat of his 72-second demolition in his last fight against Graham Earl in December.

"With Earl, I knew I was going to go in there and beat him. This fight, I know I'm going to win but it is a tough fight for me," the British-Pakistani fighter said.

"If I'm going to be a young world champion, I need these fights and I don't just want to win it, I want to win it in style for people to notice me around the world.

"I know I've had a lot of critics saying I get easy opponents fed to me but it's me who trains hard and makes them look easy.

"But he's gone the distance with people like Diego Corrales and Vivian Harris so if I stop him it will be massive. This guy's a world-class fighter and he's still performing at that level."