‘Khan is beatable’
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Paul McCloskey will fight Amir Khan for the light-welterweight WBA belt on April 16 in Manchester.
DUNGIVEN'S Paul McCloskey insists he has seen flaws in Amir Khan and labelled the WBA champion "beatable" ahead of their light-welterweight clash, which is now confirmed for April 16 in Manchester. In a dramatic turn around of events, the two camps came to an agreement on Saturday after weeks of negotiations.
Last week McCloskey's team said the fight was off because Khan's team were offering Paul too little to risk his European belt and undefeated record.
On Saturday Khan said: "I am delighted that this fight has finally been put together following some tough negotiations.
"This is a matchup the British public want to see and will be a fantastic fight between two of the best light welterweights in the country."
Paul knows he isheading into the contest as a clear underdog, but he says he has taken confidence from studying Khan's last fight against Marcos Maidana in November.
The brutal bout in Las Vegas, which won the Boxing Writers Association of America's 'Fight of the Year' award, saw Khan survive a torrid tenth round before claiming a points win.Despite the victory, McCloskey feels the display also highlighted a number of weaknesses in Khan and claims he will be ready to take advantage when they meet.
Paul said: "Maidana took serious punches from Khan but, except for the one body punch at the start when he went down, he wasn't rocked. Khan's not a big puncher.
"Khan is seen as a superstar but he's certainly beatable. Yes, he's improved dramatically under Freddie Roach but in his last fight Maidana had him rocked.
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