Amir Khan so focused on Lamont Peterson he forgot his 25th birthday
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| amir khan And lamont peterson |
AMIR KHAN is so focused on his clash with Lamont Peterson he even forgot an important date – his 25th birthday.
Khan says he had to be reminded by his mum that it was his birthday when she woke him late in his plush hotel room on Thursday morning.
That lie-in was the only present he allowed himself and his celebrations are on hold until after tonight’s showdown with Peterson at the Washington Convention Center.
The WBA and IBF light-welterweight champ is well used to postponing birthdays – this is the fifth time in seven years he has either fought on, or just before, his big day.
“People were coming over to me on Thursday and wishing me all the best, but I had forgotten when I woke up that it was my birthday,” said the Bolton battler.
“It was only when my mum came into my room, gave me a kiss and wished me all the best that I realised it was my birthday.
“That’s how I deal with things, not just my birthday, but everything. I stay nice and calm. It’s because I’m so focused on boxing because it’s my job.
“I didn’t get any presents. People asked me what I wanted, but I told them not to get me anything because there’s nothing I need.
“The lie-in was good enough. It’s just good to have my family around me after being away from home for so long and that’s a big enough present for me.”
Khan’s birthday is an opportunity to look back on his career and even he is surprised by everything he has achieved since winning Olympic silver at 17 and turning pro at 18.
“I’m 25 and have two world titles,” he said. “It’s been a good couple of years for me, coming to places like DC. I have fought all over America, topping the bill in New York and Las Vegas at such a young age.
“I would never have thought when I was younger that I would have done all of this by the time I was 25. I have proved myself in big fights and this one against Lamont Peterson is another fight where I’ve got to show I am progressing.”
As fired-up as Khan expects Peterson to be, fighting in his home city, he says his mum, Falak, is the person he fears most. The quiet matriarch of the Khan clan prefers to stay out of the limelight and he says he would never dream of crossing her.
“I have climbed into the ring with some of the toughest men in boxing, but believe me, they don’t come any tougher than my mum,” he said.
“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always known that if she asks you to do something around the house you do it. You don’t argue with her.
“It’s good for me, too, because it helps me to keep my feet on the ground. There is no place for any ego, believe me.”
Mrs Khan could prove more formidable than Peterson, and I believe it could all be over inside the first few rounds because the American is a notoriously slow starter.
Victor Ortiz put him down twice in the third when they met a year ago and Timothy Bradley floored him in that round on his way to handing him his only pro defeat.
Peterson, 27, has lost over 20lbs in the last two months to make the 140lbs limit, which could leave him weight drained, and he has never faced anyone with Khan’s combination of speed and power.
He looked nervous at Thursday’s head-to-head, as if the pressure of headlining in his home city was getting to him, and he transmitted that anxiety across to Khan.
The champ could not have been more relaxed, sitting beside the legendary Bernard Hopkins, and he is at home in the spotlight.
Khan doesn’t just want to win, he wants to win in style in front of the expected 12,000 crowd in DC and add to his growing army of fans on this side of the Atlantic.
He will pepper Peterson with his jab from the first bell and I expect him to stop the challenger, perhaps as early as the fourth round.
Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/sport-front-page/2011/12/10/amir-khan-so-focused-on-lamont-peterson-he-forgot-his-25th-birthday-115875-23623949/#ixzz1g8mcIB6p
