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Tough test awaits for Khan

14/01/2008

Amir Khan will face Australian Gairy St Clair on February 2nd after original opponent Martin Kristjansen bowed out of the encounter with 'flu.

Australian St Clair will seriously test the Bolton fighter's world title ambitions as he comes into the clash with an impressive 46-fight record that is still unblemished by any stoppage against him.

The 32-year-old is a former IBF super-featherweight champion and has gone the distance with such respected names as Vivian Harris and Diego Corrales.

Promoter Frank Warren, who recently failed to agree terms with British lightweight champion Jon Thaxton for a fight against Khan following the Excel Arena outing, has warned his client to expect a difficult evening.

"He is certainly a big step up and the toughest opponent Amir has faced in his career. He is a former world champion and would be a great scalp for Amir's CV," he said.

In his last appearance in the ring Khan demolished Graham Earl in 72 seconds and is aware that he needs another impressive performance if he is to secure the world title shot he wants by the end of the year.

"Despite Kristjansen pulling out, I feel in fantastic shape at this point of my training. I'm punching real hard and just looking forward to getting in the ring on February 2nd to kick off my 2008 campaign towards the world title," he said.

"Obviously, the motivation is to be the first to stop him, which would look fantastic on my record, but I've also got great boxing skills to back it up with. There is no way I'm going to let him ruin my year and my world title ambitions."

Warren is hopeful that victory over St Clair may convince the WBO to install Khan as mandatory contender for Juan Diaz's world lightweight crown.