LONDON - Bolton boxer knows he is putting his future on the line by fighting Terence Crawford in New York but says he would love to prove everybody wrong and be a world champion again
It’s a gamble but it is also a motivation,” Amir Khan says as the days drain away before he fights the accomplished and sometimes spiteful Terence Crawford.
A week on Saturday, at Madison Square Garden in New York, Khan steps into the ring against one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world and faces the possible end of his tumultuous career at the highest level.
Of course a surprise victory for Khan, who has lost four times and been knocked out on three occasions, would do the opposite and rocket him towards the forefront of world boxing.
This dreamy possibility has convinced the 32-year-old, who made his professional debut in 2005, to gamble heavily.
“I have been fighting for many years and I need this kind of contest to lift me,” Khan says of his WBO world welterweight title bout against Crawford.
“It’s a fight to keep me in the sport, to give me the love for it. I believe I can win but everyone thinks all the odds are against me.
He’s unbeaten but this is what I need. This is a fight that can make me a world champion again and I feel that God has given me this chance. Beating Crawford will transform my career. You need these fights which make you a little nervous.”