On Saturday night Amir Kahn will take on Paul McCloskey. This all-British clash, which will take place at the MEN Arena, will be for the WBA light-welterweight title.
It will be Kahn's fourth defence of his world title which he claimed back in July 2009 when he beat Andreas Kotelnik. His record currently stands at 24 wins to just the one loss. His opponent McCloskey, however, boasts an impressive unbeaten record of 22 professional bouts.
Prescott blemish a thing of the past
That one blemish on Kahn's record came at the hands of Breidis Prescott when he was knocked-out within the first round of their fight in 2008.
Question marks about Kahn's glass chin have lingered ever since, although his most recent fight against Marcos Maidana has silenced many of his critics. Kahn arguably took more heavy shots in that fight last December, than he had done in his fledgling career to date, yet he remained on his feet throughout.
It was after his loss to Prescott that Kahn began to work with respected coach Freddie Roach, who also oversees the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world Manny Pacquiao, and the results have been noticeable.
While maintaining his phenomenal hand speed, Roach has added more discipline and better tactics to Kahn's performances which has seen him mature and improve as a boxer. Moreover, through improved strength and conditioning work, it seems that Kahn's ability to wear a punch has also greatly increased.
Worthy challenger in last chance saloon
His opponent this weekend will almost certainly provide a stiff challenge to Kahn. McCloskey is highly-rated at light-welterweight and he and his team are confident they can further test those “questions about his glass chin.” At the age of 31, however, the Northern Irish boxer is seven years Kahn's elder and McCloskey also gives up two inches in height to the Bolton born regular. There will be worries about whether or not the challenger will have the stamina or the ability to cope with Kahn's speed as the fight progresses.
McCloskey is a tricky southpaw who is the current European light-welterweight champion and, with his advancing years, it is likely that this may be his last chance to hold a world title. His experience and hunger going into this fight, comfortably the biggest of his career, must be acknowledged. This is not merely a fight put on to entertain home fans like the all-British bout between David Haye and Audley Harrison, a fight which was little more than a heavyweight joke. Nevertheless, Kahn's superior ability, extra reach and youthful advantage suggest he warrants the short odds that the bookies are giving him.
There are talks of Kahn going on to fight the American Timothy Bradley in the summer as long as McCloskey does not prove to be a stumbling block on Saturday night. The fight with Bradley, who holds both the WBC and WBO light-welterweight belts, would be a unification fight that could potentially thrust Kahn well and truly into the elite of world boxing.