SEPTEMBER 21, 2013
Amir Khan has responded to his trainer’s clarion call for intensified commitment to boxing by abandoning the celebrity lifestyle and submitting to the rigours of a three-month training camp, according to the DailyMail.
Victory over world welterweight champion Devon Alexander in December would bring with it the possibility of a mega-millions super-fight against Floyd Mayweather.
There is even an outside chance that the greatest boxer on earth might be tempted onto the hallowed turf of Wembley Stadium for an appearance in front of 100,000 of his British fans.
With American trainer Virgil Hunter challenging him to emulate Mayweather’s “hard work and dedication,” Khan said, “I looked at my body in the mirror and didn’t like what I saw. I looked weak. It had a lot to do with me killing myself to make weight at light-welter but also with my diet regime.”
Hunter sent his strength and conditioning coach to Bolton last month to revise the eating and training habits of Britain’s two-time former world champion.
Khan said, “I now feel stronger, with more energy.”
He also agreed to travel on to Hunter’s gym near San Francisco immediately at the end of his weekend in Las Vegas watching Mayweather put on a virtuoso performance to rout much-touted Mexican challenger Canelo Alvarez, instead of returning home for four weeks.
Khan’s new wife Faryal has accompanied him on this trip but will stay only briefly in San Francisco before leaving to spend time with family and friends in her native New York.
That is where Khan’s fight with Alexander is expected to take place on December 7 but he is turning his back on the glitzy events and celebrity parties which have been a temptation in England.
He said, “Going up to welterweight to face a champion like Alexander is a big risk for me. It’s not only the prospect of a Mayweather fight which is on the line, but my career.
“I won’t let defeat happen because I know that would leave me with few places to go. But I am confident I will be stronger at the bigger weight and that will enable my speed and movement to prevail.”
That requires the drinking of 12 litres of water a day. The intention is to drain toxins from the system but Khan said, “It was weakening me. I need to build up my size and strength, not water down.
“I’ve been getting bigger and more muscular and feel much better. I used to be able to squeeze into trousers with a 30 inch waist. Now I need 32-inchers and some of my favourite skinny jeans have had to go.”
Khan is currently about 10 pounds over the welter limit of 147lbs, which puts him comfortably on track for December 7.
The Mayweather connection surprises Khan’s critics but has arisen from the pound-for-pound king demolishing most of his potential challengers… and courtesy of his Golden Boy promoters.
Richard Schaefer, chief executive of that company, is intrigued by the notion of Wembley. After masterminding the record-viewing Mayweather-Alvarez spectacular, he said, “It would be exciting to bring 100,000 people to an event in London.”
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