Khan must pass Garcia test before 147 schemes

Amir Khan is set to meet WBC light-welterweight Champion Danny Garcia at the Mandalay Bay on the 14th July.


This came after Khan’s original opponent Lamont Peterson failed a drugs test seeing their rematch cancelled.

But again, Khan has been looking past this next fight and weighing up his plans to move up to the welterweight division.

This proved a grave error before the first Peterson fight, which saw the Washington man defeat Khan in the upset of the year to take Khan’s belts to America.

It is imperative that Khan stays focussed on the task at hand this time so that he doesn’t get caught out in another fight he is favourite going in to.

Danny Garcia is unbeaten and fresh from winning the WBC strap of boxing legend Erik Morales via unanimous decision in March.

He will be eager to show his pedigree as this is his first defence and he will be looking to truly announce himself on the world scene.

But whilst he has all these attributes, Khan is still the more skilled, quicker technician.

Garcia could not vanquish an aged Morales with a knockout, showing that he will probably not knock out a fresher-legged Khan either.

Khan however has knockout victories over the likes of Zab Judah, Paulie Malignaggi and Marco Antonio Barrera.

Although it must be taken into consideration that Khan’s spirits will be down, having trained as hard as he did for his Peterson rematch only to have it cancelled.

Be that as it may, Khan should still have the tools to see off Garcia, likely by decision.

Should he do so, what is next for the boy from Bolton?

He constantly says that he will move up to 147lbs, but it isn’t as easy as that.

Firstly, he must ingratiate himself to the division with an impressive victory over a good, but not necessary great opponent.

Fortunately for Amir, welterweight is about the most talent-diluted division going right now.

Victor Ortiz could be an option if can wants to go for a live, active fighter and southpaw at that.

Sugar Shane Mosley could provide a nice stepping stone as Saul Alvarez showed last month.

It is wise that Khan stays away from Mayweather, Pacquiao, Cotto and possibly Marquez this time around as he will need to get used to the weight and make adjustments.

That said, Amir does not balloon up in between fights, he keeps himself trim and walks around about half a stone heavier than his fight weight which will stand in his favour.

He should not lose much speed in his fists as it is his legs that will need bulking up to take the slightly heavier shots as well as his shoulders and neck.

To me, his best options lie with three fighters; former WBC champion Devon Alexander, current NABA and NABO holder Mike Jones, and Timothy Bradley.

Of this opponents, a Bradley fight is the most attractive as there is history from the light-welterweight so as to who is the better combatant.

But Bradley must get past Manny Pacquiao with his fighting dignity intact to keep this fight viable.

Alexander is coming off a resounding victory over Marcos Maidana, who took Amir Khan all the way 18 months ago.

Mike Jones, much like Danny Garcia is fairly untested, but unbeaten and a fight with Khan would be a great acid test.

Many critics are asking whether he will be able to handle himself at the heavier weight.

There should be no problem, his only knockout loss is far, far behind him and he learned from it that he needed better conditioning.

If he can increase his leg mass slightly that should stand him in good stead.

As for how far he can go, Khan should be looking to have one fight and then setting his sights firmly on the top of the division to take on Mayweather, Pacquiao, Cotto or Marquez.

Either of these opponents would be great for Khan as victories over Cotto and Marquez would heavily increase his stock, whilst proving he looks to face the best.

Wins over Pacquiao and/or Mayweather would be on another level though and would see Khan right up there with Britain’s best ever boxers, having competed in two divisions saturated with the best talents in world boxing.

One thing is for sure, Amir “King” Khan is looking to become just that, a king, a legend of boxing.

And in order to achieve that he must move up to welterweight, force his way through the politics of match-making to ensure himself the biggest fights before his planned “retirement” when he turns 28.

Early bath likely for not so great Danes

By Adam Appleton


In 1992 they came off the beach ten days before the tournament having failed to qualify to replace an errant Yugoslavia team.

Twenty years later, they are still the most unlikely, unfancied and unbelievable European champions ever.

They saw off the likes of England, France, Holland and Germany along the way to glory to win 2-0 in the final with goals from Vilfort and Jensen in front of a packed Ullevi stadium, Gothenburg.

What made it all the more surprising was that they did it without star players Michael Laudrup and Jan Molby.

Oh how they could do with such talents in their 2012 squad.

They have been given a hellish draw, the tournament’s group of death versus Holland, Germany and Portugal.

Whilst it is unlikely that they will win any of these games, let alone get out of the group, it is still interesting to look into their squad.

Defence must be the first priority for them, which is why Daniel Agger looks set to be their most important player.

The Liverpool defender had a superb season and has truly become a senior player for both of his red teams.

He will have to marshal the defence with Simon Kjaer, who is also a high quality player.

Meanwhile, their up-and-coming star is undoubtedly Christian Eriksen.

The Ajax man will be the creative force in their midfield, playing just behind the strikers.

He will be hoping that main forward Nicklas Bendtner can play as well as he talks, because you feel as though there will not be many goal-scoring opportunities, but one worries he is more image than substance.

Utilising their experienced players will also be vital, Christian Poulsen will be anchoring the midfield, the perfect foil for Christian Eriksen, while 115-cap Dennis Rommedahl will be roaming the wings just as he always has done.

He may been heavily experienced, but Rommedahl has not lost much of his pace over the years and can still give any wing-back trouble.

They could not ask for a more knowledgeable, learned manager in Morten Olsen.

And they will need every inch of that knowledge, as collectively they are very inexperienced, with only 618 caps to their names, 206 of which belong to Poulsen and Rommedahl.

But this will not faze Olsen, who has been in charge of the national side for 12 years now, having made 102 appearances for them in his playing days; a true patriot.

Through the nineties he worked for Brondby, Koln and Ajax before accepting the national job in 2000.

He will face a tough task to get any points from this tournament.