(FEB 26) HOBOKEN, N.J. –The hype
surrounding 22-year-old lightweight prospect Amir Khan may not be the
same since his stunning first-round knockout loss to Breidis Prescott
last September, but the 2004 Olympic silver medallist has the full
confidence of his head trainer, Freddie Roach, as they prepare in Los
Angeles for Khan’s showdown with multiple world champion “The Baby Faced
Assassin” Marco Antonio Barrera, Saturday, March 14 at The M.E.N. Arena
in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Integrated Sports is distributing three 12-round championship bouts
featured on the “Khan-Barrera” pay-per-view card, presented by Frank
Warren, in North America for live viewing at 4 PM/ET – 1 PM/PT on cable
and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, TVN, DirecTV and Dish Network
in the United States, as well as Viewer’s Choice and Bell TV in Canada,
for a suggested retail price of only $24.95. Veteran blow-by-blow
announcer Ian Darke and color analyst, former WBC lightweight champion
Jim Watt, will be calling the action from ringside for Sky Box Office
and Integrated Sports PPV.
Khan (19-1, 15 KOs), training at Roach’s famed Wild Card Gym, defends
his WBA International lightweight title against seven-time world
champion Barrera (65-6, 42 KOs) in the 12-round main event. The two
other PPV fights will be former WBO cruiserweight title-holder Enzo
Maccarinelli (29-2, 22 KOs) against NABO champ Ola “Kryptonite” Afolabi
(13-1-3, 5 KOs) for the WBO cruiserweight championship, while WBO super
middleweight champion Nicky “Cookie” Cook (29-1, 16 KOs) defends his
title belt against undefeated No. 1 contender Roman “Rocky” Martinez
(21-0-1, 12 KOs).
Khan, coming off of a win by second-round TKO of Oisin Fagan for the WBA
International title last December, is rated No. 9 by the WBO and No. 13
by the IBF. Roach favourably compares his prospect, Khan, with his ace,
pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.
“Athleticism, speed.....everything,” Roach explained why he believes
Amir will emerge victoriously. “Barrera’s best was at 122 and 126; Amir
is a big 135-pounder. It’s the perfect time – 22-year-old kid against a
35-year-old veteran. We respect Barrera and there’s a lot we have to
lookout from him. Barrera can set-up guys with his experience but we’ve
really prepared for that.
“Amir reminds me a lot of Manny Pacquiao. They’re both very athletic and
Amir is the only guy who can run with Manny. I remember Manny getting
knocked out early in his career (by Rustico Torrecampo in 1996) and
everybody writing him off. Amir came in on a bigger stage from the
Olympics, but I believe he’ll rebound and become world champion. I
brought Amir here (Wild Card) to camp to be with Manny and sparring
together built Amir’s confidence. If he can do as well as he did with
Manny, he can do as well against anybody. He just made a young man’s
mistake against Prescott, going for the knockout, and he got caught.
Anybody can get caught and Amir is perfecting his defense. He has come
along well since his first fight (vs. Fagan) with me.”
Barrera, who has held world titles in three different weight classes
during his 19-year pro career, holds wins against a Who’s Who of
contemporary world champions and/or challengers such as Erik Morales
(twice), Paulie Ayala, Prince Naseem Hamed, Kevin Kelly, Johnny Tapia,
Robbie Peden, Mzonke Fana, and Rocky Juarez (twice).
WBO No. 1 rated Maccarinelli, ranked No.. 6 by The Ring, defeated
Mohamed Azzaoui, Wayne Braithwite, Bobby Gunn, Marcelo Fabian Dominguez
and Mark Hobson (twice) during his WBO title reign (2006-2008). The WBO
No.. 2 rated London-born Afolabi, now living in California, captured the
NABO crown last April, stopping previously unbeaten Eric Fields in the
10th round.
Cook won the WBO super featherweight title in his last fight, taking a
12-round unanimous decision from Alex Arthur (26-1) last September in
The M.E.N. Arena. The former European champion is rated No. 6 by The
Ring. Puerto Rican star on the rise, NABO super featherweight
title-holder Martinez, in addition to being the WBC’s top contender, is
also rated No. 4 by the WBA No. 9 by The Ring.
