ABDUL Khan, Bolton-based super-featherweight prospect, makes his return to the ring tonight in Accra, Ghana, on the ‘Battle of the Beasts’ undercard broadcast live on DAZN. A relative of 2004 Olympic silver medallist and former unified WBA/IBF super-lightweight world champion Amir Khan, Abdul has lofty ambitions of his own within the sport.
‘It’s been roughly six months since my last fight, and I’ve been training extremely hard in that time, waiting for my next fight date to be confirmed,” he told Boxing News in the lead-up to this bout.
“I need activity at this stage of my career, so I’m extremely grateful for this huge opportunity on such a big platform like DAZN and to be fighting in Africa – I can’t wait to see what it’s like out in Ghana.
“I’ve been ticking over in the gym, staying sharp with my coach Alex Matvienko, working on a number of things to enhance my game and push me to the next level. I’m ready to go and fight, night can’t get here quick enough for me.”
Having fought four of his professional bouts outside of the UK, in Dubai, Khan is no stranger to going away from home and getting the job done. The chance to now fight in Ghana is a welcome opportunity, with his experience fighting abroad multiple times holding him in good standing.
“I’m truly blessed, to be able to take fights in other countries such as the UAE and now Ghana, a place that we don’t really see a lot of big boxing cards being put on, or shown on big platforms like DAZN at least. I work very hard, if I was just messing around, then I wouldn’t feel like I deserve these opportunities, but me and my team know the graft I put in day in and day out, so I feel like I’ve earned this.
“My coach Alex is always talking about how impressed he is by the amount of hard work I put into this every single day, and he says it’s my best attribute – my commitment to the game.
“He’s seen me grow from a child into a man when I first started out boxing. I left his gym for a while when I was younger and trained at another gym and picked up different skills and ways of doing things, but I ended up back here and as a more developed fighter – I think it’s all worked out how it was meant to in the end.”
Khan has fought the majority of his professional bouts at super-featherweight but has also fought at both lightweight and super-lightweight. He now believes that super-featherweight should be the weight he campaigns at for the foreseeable future, following conversations with his coach.
“Alex has known me since I was eight years old, so he knows what’s best for me in terms of my fighting weight. As you know, I’ve fought at super-lightweight and lightweight before, but super feather is definitely where I’m strongest, I believe, and Alex feels the same way too.
“I think sometimes people in boxing don’t realise how important the fighter/coach relationship really is. When things get tricky in the ring, you need to have that trust in your coach and corner team that they’ll be able to guide you through it. For me, when those moments come, I have full confidence in my coach and cornermen to be able to give me the instructions I need to see my way through the fight.
“I just want to say it’s an honour to be fighting in Ghana and playing my part on the card. I hope this can lead to more cards in not just Ghana, but Africa too. I know there are cards being put on in Pakistan this year.
“I hope there is a knock-on effect bringing boxing to all these countries around the world that we don’t normally see as destinations for big boxing cards. It’s time to see the sport represented globally and I want to be a part of that.”
