April 21, 2018
British-Pakistani boxer Amir Khan returns to the ring tonight to take on Canada's Phil Lo Greco, for his first fight in the UK in five years.
Khan will face Phil Lo Greco in Liverpool on Saturday, 23 months after he was beaten by Saul ´Canelo´ Alvarez in Las Vegas, having stepped up two divisions to middleweight, and five years since he last fought on home soil against Julio Diaz in Sheffield.
"You look at these great fighters like [Anthony] Joshua cleaning up, doing really well, knocking guys out, selling out stadiums and I´m like, ´Wow, this is where I want to be again´," Khan told a press conference earlier this week.
"I´ve done it in the past and I want to do it again. I know I´ve got a style where the crowd will come and watch me and want to see me."
The 31-year-old added: "Fighters like Joshua out there give you that inspiration to come out and do well and sell out stadiums again.
"British boxing was really dying and Eddie´s brought it back alive again. I remember the days when I used to fight in America all the time because in Britain, boxing wasn´t as big as what we wanted it to be."
Meanwhile Lo Greco insisted the 2004 Olympic silver medallist´s best days are behind.
"I was a fan, I think you´ve done great," Lo Greco told Khan at the press conference. "I´ve studied your boxing. I honestly believe your best years are done, I think your best years were in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and it´s going to show on Saturday night."
With a new trainer in his camp, Joe Goossen, Khan vows to put up an electrifying performance.
"I think I’m at the peak of my career now. I feel better now than I did when I was 28. I train smarter now. When I was younger I made mistakes," he said in a recent interview to Mirror.
A welterweight fight between Amir Khan and Canadian Phil Lo Greco.
Echo Arena, Liverpool, UK
Between 10pm and 10:30pm (local time). Timings remain subject to change or delay.