by Geoffrey Ciani – This week’s 96th edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KOs) who is preparing to defend his title against Marcos Maidana (29-1, 27 KOs) on December 11. Last time out, Khan put on an impressive performance in his second title defense when he defeated Paulie Malignaggi by eleventh round TKO. Khan spoke about his upcoming fight, his training experiences with Manny Pacquiao, and also provided insights and opinions on the current boxing landscape. Here is a complete transcript of that interview.
JENNA J: Anyway guys, it’s time for our first guest on this week’s show. He is currently the WBA light welterweight champion of the world, joining us for the second time, we have Amir Khan. How’s everything going today, Amir?
AMIR KHAN: Yeah, everything’s going really well. I’ve just been training hard. In training camp it’s been a few weeks now and it feels good to be back here focused and to get my body back in condition.
JENNA: Great. Amir, you have a very big fight coming up on December 11 against Marcos Maidana. How do you feel about your opponent?
KHAN: Yeah you know he’s a tough guy. I think everyone knows when they see Marcos Maidana fight, he’s a pressure fighter who throws big looping shots. He’s a power puncher. I think his record says it all. I think he’s knocked 27 out, out of the 30. So it’s going to be exciting, because there are two punchers in this fight and I think it’s a fight that people should watch, because out of all the fights in that division, I think it’s the most exciting fight up to now.
JENNA: Alright, now you mentioned a little bit about the way Maidana fights. What do you think of the things he’s accomplished so far at this weight class?
KHAN: I think he’s accomplished a lot, really. He boxed Victor Ortiz knocking him out and Victor was an up and coming fighter at that time, and I think that just put him up in the top four in the light welterweight division. But I don’t think he’s boxed anyone with a clever style like myself—someone who’s smart in the ring, someone who boxes and hits hard, and knows the ring inside out. So it’s going to be a tough fight and I think Maidana’s got his hands full on the night.
JENNA:It’s been over two years since your fight with Breidis Prescott. This is the first puncher you face, the first real puncher since then. What do you think you have learned since that fight?
KHAN: You know since that fight I have learned a lot, because I think in a way it was a good thing it happened. It made me realize that I have to train harder and focus more. Since then I’ve changed my training camp from the UK to LA with Freddie Roach. Since then I’ve sparred with Manny Pacquiao and developed training with him, and also had Freddie in my corner who helps me out. So I made a huge difference and a huge help in my career, so I think that was a good help that he did. I think without that defeat, I don’t think I’d be in this position. I think that’s the only fight people keep bringing up because they’ve got nothing on me. I think every interview people say, “What do you think about the Prescott defeat?” It was two years ago, you know? It was so long ago. If people still want to bring that up, that’s fine. After I knockout Maidana, I think that will just kill that question what people think. At the end of the day, I think that’s just part of boxing. The critics are always going to be there, but in a way it just motivates me and makes me train harder.
JENNA: Now you mentioned Freddie Roach. You’ve been working with him almost two years now. What do you think he’s improved in you the most?
KHAN: Yeah, we worked on a lot of stuff—being patient, working the jab, working the right shots at the right time. Before I used to fight with a lot of heart and just step in there and fight, and that wasn’t my style. My style is a boxing style—hit and move, and be sharp and use the advantages I have. That’s what I’ve done now with Freddie. Freddie’s brought the best out of me.
JENNA: Great! Amir, we’re also joined by my co-host, Geoff.
GEOFFREY CIANI: Hi Amir, it’s great to have you back on the program.
KHAN: Oh thanks. Thank you.
CIANI: I wanted to get your opinion on some of the other top guys in your division, Amir, and specifically I’m curious what you think of the upcoming fight between Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander?
KHAN: I think that’s a good fight. If you remember when I beat Paulie Malignaggi I did make that statement that I’d fight Maidana and that I think those are two guys, Bradley and Alexander, who should fight each other and that’s how it’s worked out. If you look, the top four fighters in the division are fighting each other to see who’s the number one. So hopefully the winner fights the winner, and I think that’s what boxing should be all about. The best should fight the best. It’s good for the viewers, it’s good for the boxing fans, and if you want to be known as a great fighter you need to do that. Yeah, that’s a good fight. I think it’s going to be a tough fight for both fighters and the best one will win the fight.
CIANI: Do you have any idea on how you think this one will play out and who you think will win?
KHAN: In my fight with Maidana I can see myself coming out of that fight as the winner, and the winner of the Bradley-Alexander fight is a tough call because I think Alexander is still a bit raw. He’s still a little inexperienced. If he doesn’t catch Bradley in the early rounds I think he could lose the fight because I think with Bradley, he has a lot of experience and he knows exactly what to do and he’s totally changed his style a few times. If you watch his last few fights he’s changed his style a little bit. He boxes a little bit more and he’s got quick hands. He’s a tough guy, but I give it 60-40 to Bradley.
CIANI: If you do win your fight with Maidana and you do indeed fight the winner of that fight, do you have a preference in which one of those guys wins?
KHAN: No, I’ll fight anyone. I’ll fight any one of them. That’s not a problem. I just welcome both fighters. I don’t mind fighting southpaws if Alexander wins, and if Bradley wins the fight I don’t mind fighting him. I’ve got a great style and good height. I think I’ll be ready for both of them.
CIANI: In Alexander’s last fight he had a little bit of a struggle against an opponent that you handled easily in Kotelnik. I’m wondering what your thoughts on that fight were and if you thought Alexander did enough to win that fight?
KHAN: Well you know it was a close fight. I would have given a good draw or maybe Kotelnik by one round, but I think different styles make different fights. I think Alexander was a bit shocked by the way Kotelnik comes out. Kotelnik doesn’t get the respect that he should get really because when I fought him, and I beat him hands down, I think people said Kotelnik’s no good and that he’s a walk-over. But then I think he proved it when he fought Alexander. Kotelnik’s a tough fighter. He’s strong, he likes to fight, and he’s game. He could take a good shot and he’s always in front of you so it just shows what Kotelnik is about. Yeah, it was a close fight. Like I said, styles make fights and I’m sure Alexander has learned a lot off that fight and is going to come back stronger. When he fights Bradley he won’t make the same mistakes.
CIANI: Now if you do wind up facing Alexander, a lot of observers and fans in particular are saying that since you had such an easy time with Kotelnik and Alexander struggled, a lot of people are expecting you to get by him, but as you stated “styles make fights”. How do you think your style matches up against somebody like Alexander?
KHAN: Well I think it’s a good style. I can see myself coming through that fight with speed and power. A lot of people say Alexander hits hard and is a big puncher, but I don’t really think he’s a big puncher. I think he throws a lot of punches and he just throws a one off bomb and if he catches you, then just like any fighter, if he’s going to catch you clean with a shot you’re going to go down. That would be a good fight. Like I said, styles make fights and it will be an exciting fight because we’re both young and we’re both hungry and we’ll come into the ring fit and strong. So that’s two young fighters in their prime who are going to face each other and I think that would be a good fight.
JENNA: Alright Amir, you’re currently training and doing some sparring with Manny Pacquiao. How does it feel to be working with someone that has accomplished so much in this sport?
KHAN: Oh it’s been brilliant, because I sparred with him after defeat two years ago. I did really well with him then, but this time I’ve done even better and it just shows how much I’ve come on since I’ve been training with Manny. But we’ve been doing very little sparring because Manny is fighting a totally different style and I’m fighting an orthodox fighter. So Manny’s not really a big help in this, and the only thing that Manny’s helping is to keep me sharp and to keep me on the edge when I spar and stuff and to make sure I keep my hands up and everything. Yeah, sparring went really well. It’s just great to work with somebody like Manny because Manny is known as one of the best fighters in the world.
JENNA: Between the both of you guys when you’re in sparring there, I know competitive instincts take over. Who gets the better of it?
KHAN: It’s a 50-50 spar. You know we’re both learning. Some days I have a good day, but some days Manny has a good day. I think that’s just sparring. You help and you learn with each other, but sometimes it does get out of hand where Freddie has to step in and say, “Calm down, it’s only a spar”. It’s a good thing, because then we’re learning with each other and me and Manny are good friends outside the ring, but we know when we’re in the ring it’s business. We need to train hard and work hard, but sparring is going really well. I enjoy it. At the end of the day I have learned so much off of Manny and he’s learned a little off me as well.
JENNA: Now Manny himself has a fight that he’s training for on November 13 against Antonio Margarito. How do you see that fight going?
KHAN: I think Manny will win the fight. Margarito’s a tough guy. He can take a good shot. He stands in front of you. I think he’s quite static and also I don’t think he’s as quick as Manny. I think Manny will hit and move and hit the angles and catch him by surprise every time. So yeah, it’s going to be a good fight to watch, though. I think it will go into the later rounds but I can see Manny probably stopping him in the later rounds.
CIANI: I wanted to get your opinion on some of your fellow British fighters, and some of their fights coming up, and just on some of their careers in general. I wanted to start off, in the Super Six super middleweight tournament, Carl Froch has a fight coming up against Arthur Abraham and I’m wondering what you think about Carl as a fighter and what you think about his upcoming fight against Abraham?
KHAN: Yeah, you know Carl Froch I think is not a bad fighter. He’s had his ups and downs inside of boxing. He’s said a lot of trash about me and stuff, but I’ll be professional and talk about most of the good things about him. I think he’s got a big heart when he fights. His defense, I think, needs to be tightened up a little bit because I think he does get caught a lot. If you’re going to get caught by a guy like Arthur Abraham who’s a very big puncher, I think he can put a lot of people to sleep. I think he needs to tighten up his defense. He gets caught a lot, but I think it’s going to be a tough fight for him and if he wants to win the Super Six I think he has to get through this fight and win this fight.
CIANI: Now the other big fight that I know a lot of British fans are talking about right now is the upcoming heavyweight title fight between David Haye and Audley Harrison, and I’m wondering if you could give us some quick views on that one?
KHAN: Yeah, they both were friends. David Haye, I think whenever he fights he has a similar style to me where he’s very exciting. He pushes 100% in the ring and he gives the fans a good fight to watch, whereas Audley I think is a little boring. I think maybe his age has gotten to him. He’s a lot slower, but with a lot of experience. Being an Olympic Gold Medalist he’s got a good background. In the fight I can probably see David Haye probably knocking him out in the mid rounds, breaking him down slowly with that jab and then catching him over the top when he throws his long shots.
CIANI: Now if David Haye does indeed come out victorious in this fight, do you think we’ll see him in there against a Klitschko next year?
KHAN: Yeah, you know there’s another British fighter who’s fighting a Klitschko. I think the fight’s been done which is Derek Chisora so I think, yeah, the winner of that fight David should fight because I was speaking to him just before I left England and he was talking about when he wants to retire. He thinks in another twelve months he wants to retire, so in the next twelve months I think a fight will happen with the Klitschko brothers.
CIANI: Which British fighter out there has had the most positive impact on your career either as a fighter or from the perspective of a fan that helped you improve as a fighter?
KHAN: There’s a few really. There’s Ricky Hatton who’s been a big help. We get along quite well. We’re good friends and when I fought as a professional he was giving me some good advice. Also Naseem Hamed is a good friend of mine as well. We have a good chat now and then, and we got talking a lot when I was fighting Barrera. The last few fights he’s been ringside watching me fight. So I’ve got a good relationship with all of the fighters. At the end of the day all of the fighters in England, it could be Joe Calzaghe, it could be Naseem Hamed or Ricky Hatton. They all respect me and I respect them as well and we know each other quite well. We give each other advice. The two main guys are probably Hatton and Naseem Hamed, maybe because we’re quite local. We live not far from each other so we see each other more often and that’s when we probably have a chat.
CIANI: With regards to Ricky Hatton, do you think he’ll ever get back in the ring and do you think he will ever want to come back into boxing?
KHAN: Well you know he had stuff about taking the illegal substances and stuff, and the commission in England have taken the boxing license off him. So I can’t really see him coming back and getting in the ring, but really I don’t think he should come back. Maybe as a friend and giving him some advice, I don’t think he should come back because, especially if he comes back at the 140 pound division, it’s a tough division because of big fighting names there and also he’s been out so long now. After getting hurt in his last fight, I think he should call it a day. He’s made a lot of money in the sport and also he’s known as a boxing legend in Britain. So I think he doesn’t have to come back. I’m sure he’s earned a lot of money in the sport so he can just relax now.
CIANI: Now the other guy you mentioned was Hamed. I’m wondering if you could just give me some views on what you thought of his boxing career and what you thought it was that made him such a special fighter during his peak years?
KHAN: If you look back and you watch his fights, people think Floyd Mayweather was flamboyant and he was cocky and everything, but when Naz was fighting I think Naz was like ten times worse. He was worse than Floyd. He had the style, he had the mouth to back it up and the power as well. I remember watching the Kevin Kelly fight. I think I thought they were going to fight before the fight. Naz was a great fighter. He was a great puncher. He made a lot of money in the game. I think still people respect him and what he did in the game. He brought a lot of show business in the game, especially in the lower weight divisions where before there used to be big money in the higher divisions, and with Naz, there lot of money pumped into the lighter divisions after seeing him fight.
JENNA: Alright Amir, we have just a couple of more questions before we let you off the line. I’m wondering, what are your thoughts on the whole Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather situation? Those two have tried to fight numerous times. The fights haven’t come together. Do you think we’ll ever see those two get in the ring?
KHAN: It’s an exciting fight. I think the world wants that fight to happen. I speak to Manny, and Manny wants the fight but then as soon as it gets close to signing the deal off there’s always little things that they disagree about. I think now it’s the money issues. They should give it a split, but they’re still not happy. One fighter wants 60% then the other fighter wants 60%. So I think they should call it 50-50 and the winner should take an extra 10% and that’s the way it should be. That’s a fight that boxing fans want to see. It’s going to be explosive because you got two pound-for-pound fighters in the world who no one can touch. To put them in the same ring, and normally you’d never get them in the same division, but this time they are in the same weight division. So I think that fight should happen, and when I speak to Manny, Manny 100% wants the fight so I think the ball is in Floyd’s corner.
JENNA: Now speaking of Floyd Mayweather Junior, your name has come up as a possible opponent for him if that fight doesn’t happen with Pacquiao. How much would you like to face Floyd Mayweather Junior if you’re successful against Marcos Maidana?
KHAN: Well you know I’ve always said I wanted to unify the division before I move up to welterweight. I think it’s a fight in the future. People think I’m talking about fighting him next week when people heard that I was interested in fighting him, but it’s a work in progress. It’s maybe going to take around about twelve to fifteen months if the fight is ever going to be made. So people need to understand that I want to get through Maidana, then fight the winner of Alexander-Bradley, and then maybe possibly be in a position to fight someone like Floyd Mayweather. I think styles make fights and I think it would be a good fight. That’s in good time. I want to hit my peak first, I want to be in the best of shape, and then take it from there.
JENNA: Now my co-host Geoff brought up you potentially facing the winner of Alexander-Bradley and you said “I’ll fight any of them”, but with both taking shots at you in the press, is there one that you’d be more motivated to silence?
KHAN: Not really, because I think in boxing, I think with fighters they’re always speaking and trash-talking about each other and it’s not really my style. I’m just happy to fight the winner. I want to fight the winner really. Boxing’s a business and if you want to be the best in the sport you have to fight the best so I want to fight the guy who wins the fight and shut him up really. Once I beat the winner of the Bradley-Alexander fight I think people will know who is the best is in the division, but yeah I’m happy to fight either of them.
JENNA: Another fight that’s been talked about potentially for you is a fight between you and Juan Manuel Marquez. He has a fight coming up against Michael Katsidis. How do you see that fight going?
KHAN: I think it’s a tough fight. I think Marquez is the better boxer and with boxing skills like he has he’ll probably walk through the fight and it will probably go the distance where Marquez wins by unanimous. But I think now I think I’m going to overlook that fight. He didn’t want to fight me, and I don’t want to go back and say I want to fight him again because he had his chance and that’s it. He lost that chance to fight me. I want to move on and fight the other big names like Maidana, and Alexander, and Bradley, and the other big names out there. I think Marquez had his chance and he didn’t take it. But who knows, in boxing anything can happen. The best fights are made over night. So maybe in the future that fight could happen, but at the moment he’s not on my radar.
JENNA: Now you mentioned big names out there. There’s a name from the past that returned and that would be Erik Morales. He’s had two successful wins. Would you ever consider having a fight with him?
KHAN: Well I think he has to prove himself first, really. Erik Morales is a big name, and I think when I fought Barrera it was about getting my name back up there after a defeat and putting me back in position to be in the WBO rankings because he was the number one at that time. That’s the reason we took the fight against Barrera, but with Erik Morales coming back, I think it could be a fight in the future. He has to prove himself first with a few big wins and then I’ll be happy to take him on.
JENNA: What is your official prediction for your fight against Marcos Maidana on December 11?
KHAN: You got two big punchers. You got the boxer/puncher and the big puncher. I think always when there’s a fighter with a boxer, the boxer always wins the fight with the skills and speed. I can see myself winning maybe with a late stoppage or a twelve round decision.
JENNA: Is there anything you want to say to all your fans out there?
KHAN: I just want to thank them all because with their support I get from around the world, it’s brilliant. If they want to follow me at Twitter, it’s “AmirKingKhan”. I’ll keep them all updated with sparring with Manny and also training camps, how my training is coming along. I upload pictures and everything. So yeah, it would be great for them if they want to keep updated with my career. So that’s “AmirKingKhan”.
JENNA: Well that’s fantastic. It’s been an absolute pleasure having you on the show. We thank you for your time Amir and wish you the best of luck against Marcos Maidana.
KHAN: Thank you very much.
CIANI: Thanks Amir. Good luck.
KHAN: Thanks man. Good bye.
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For those interested in listening to the Amir Khan interview in its entirety, it begins approximately twenty-four minutes into the program.
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