So Khan-Earl Is Official

steve689 · Post by **steve689** » 19 Oct 2007, 03:33

KHAN GETS EARL FOR 21st BIRTHDAY

Amir Khan has got the 21st birthday present he wanted: a showdown with Graham Earl.

Unbeaten Khan makes the second defence of his Commonwealth Lightweight title on his milestone birthday against the Luton scrapper at the Bolton Arena on Saturday 8th December live on ITV1.

The Bolton hotshot, ranked number six by the WBO, disposed of English Champion Scott Lawton in the fourth round earlier this month with a punch-perfect display to set up his dream date against 'The Duke'.

Earl's last fight was a real toe-to-toe war against Michael Katsidis in February for the WBO World Lightweight crown which is a hot favourite for the Fight of the Year award.

Khan said, "A fight between us has been brewing for a while now and it's time to get business settled. This is a coming of age fight for me and I'm delighted that it's Earl in the opposite corner that I'm facing,"

"He's very experienced and has been around a long time. When he made his pro-debut in 1997 I was still just a 10-year-old kid!"

"Earl's a former British, Commonwealth and European champion and has challenged for the world title so he will be an excellent test for me."

"I've seen plenty of his fights against the likes of Katsidis, Steve Murray and Bobby Vanzie and I know what to expect from him - plenty of heart and power"

"I'm in this sport to become a world champion and a great and there is no way that Earl is going to stop me achieving this."

Earl, 29, does not see himself as a stepping-stone for Khan and has promised to be the first to defeat the young star.

"I'm not an opponent for anybody and certainly not a building block for his record. Khan is a talented kid but he hasn't operated on my level and he will find out the hard way on his birthday that he has got a present that he never wanted," Retaliated Earl.

"He's been like a constant thorn in my side, opening his mouth about fighting me and dismissing me and now it is time for him to put-up or shut-up,"

"Is he prepared for a war like the one I had against Katsidis? Because that is what I am going to give him. He got floored by a non-puncher like Willie Limond so how is he going to cope with someone like me who hits hard?"

"I'm even more happy that the fight will be in his backyard because I will expose him in front of his home fans,"

"It might be his birthday but it will be my early Christmas present."

Promoter allegedly said, "This is yet another step up for Amir in his career and against Graham he faces a world ranked opponent with a wealth of experience who will test him like never before. Amir looked sensational against Lawton and he will need that sort of form and more to deal with Graham."

Tickets for Coming of Age are available from:
See Tickets: 0870 060 3794
Bolton Arena: 01204 488 100
Khan Ticket Office: 0871 855 1921/01204 535 332

Old bones Ian · Post by **Old bones Ian** » 19 Oct 2007, 04:09

And if Johannson wins tonight, then it should be Carl v Kevin Mitchell on the undercard.

No-one can complain at that bill.

Twinkle Toes · Post by **Twinkle Toes** » 19 Oct 2007, 05:56

Very good match up in my opinion - I've been quick to criticise Khan's opponents, but this is a huge leap in terms of quality.

I just hope that Earl isn't shot to pieces or coming to lie down - Something that can be leveled at previous Khan opponents.

Good fight, and not before time.

Chambers2 · Post by **Chambers2** » 19 Oct 2007, 06:05

Can't be any complaints (even from the FW haters) if this one gets made.

DG. · Post by **DG.** » 19 Oct 2007, 06:20

Chambers2 wrote:Can't be any complaints (even from the FW haters) if this one gets made.

IF ( big if?) Eale comes to fight, he is going to knock Khan into next week!

Max Molyneux · Post by **Max Molyneux** » 19 Oct 2007, 06:41

Murray Is not as good as Earl or Thaxton.

Khan on speed and flurries alone would be enough to beat Murray and open his guard up as he comes foward.

steve689 · Post by **steve689** » 19 Oct 2007, 07:39

Terry D wrote:SN must be sure that he is ready to go in order to make this fight.

Exactly, they must be sure he is shot to bits to be making this one. Let's not count our chickens yet though, injuries can be the curse of the fight game.

adamiw · Post by **adamiw** » 19 Oct 2007, 08:01

Still surprised by this fight....wonder how much pressure was put on Warren to make this, because the impression i was getting from him was that he wanted to a take a little more time at domestic level....Earl is European level.....although Katsidis dominated most of the fights, lets not forget that Earl had him in a lot of trouble.....almost as much trouble as Khan was in against Limmond

As soon as Khan senses his opponent is in trouble, he follows with a relentless assault, neglecting defence....thats how Earl hurt Katsidis...Khan needs to be disciplined

One scenario is that Khan is simply too quick and will overwhelm Earl early on....if that doesn't happen, and Earl makes a decent start then i think Khan's first loss could well be on its way

sweetscience · Post by **sweetscience** » 19 Oct 2007, 09:03

this is a 50/50 fight

it really could be won by either party

The Blade · Post by **The Blade** » 19 Oct 2007, 09:08

Terry D wrote:
Max Molyneux wrote:Murray Is not as good as Earl or Thaxton.

Khan on speed and flurries alone would be enough to beat Murray and open his guard up as he comes foward.
In my opinion Murray is better than Jon and Earl. He has youth and skills. His guard is getting better but, as John has said over and again, his style invites the other guy to open-up so John can go to work. If he fought more often he'd be our #1 prospect right now.

Technically I think John is a more rounded professional fighter and he has greater ring craft.

Nice bloke though he us, I reckon Murray will not go as far as Khan because he is too easy to hit. Khan is improving. Providing he is not a guest of her majesty because of the driving case, I think he beats Earl on speed. That Katsidis fight must have take a toll.

Mario · Post by **Mario** » 19 Oct 2007, 09:09

Old bones Ian wrote:And if Johannson wins tonight, then it should be Carl v Kevin Mitchell on the undercard.

No-one can complain at that bill.

If he doesnt win, Gomez-Mitchell would be a cracking fight too, even better in my opinion.

Dont be surprised to see Warren talking up Mitchell-Khan in the run up to that bill, but would i cant see him risking them against each other till theres a Euro/world title at stake.

thepocketrocket · Post by **thepocketrocket** » 19 Oct 2007, 09:20

Khan will school him, fast shots from the outside..

Perfect for Khan..hope Earl gets paid well

WildWaylon · Post by **WildWaylon** » 19 Oct 2007, 10:29

I would say FW has been pressured to make this one - Barry does a good job trying to make out Khans opponents are better than they are and a lot of casual ITV viewers believe him - We know with the exception of Willie Limond none of them stood a chance and so did ITV - So I think Frank had to step Khan up more quickly than he wanted to - Graham Earl is more than a danger to Khans unbeaten record and that will be seen - The fight may still not come off, as Khan could get community work which would interfere with his training, or although unlikely a custodial sentence - I think a driving ban and fine will probably be the most likely - Anyway if the fight does happen I am certain Khan will get his first pro loss - Earl has so much more experiance, hits hard and never gives up - Khan will get caught in one of his attacks where he leaves himself wide open - I have mixed feelings about this fight because part of me wants it to happen but the other part doesnt because Khan losing could mean no more boxing on ITV - No way does Khan have the power of Katsidis but he does have good handspeed - Earl can deal with that and wait his chance - Earl can certainly KO Khan but not vice versa and his massive heart and determination will see him through to the later rounds when I believe the bingo punch will happen - Lets hope ITV will want to show the rematch.

punchers chance · Post by **punchers chance** » 19 Oct 2007, 11:01

sweetscience wrote:this is a 50/50 fight

Personally, I can't agree. Its 90/10 for Khan otherwise the fight wouldn't be made.
Earl has a punchers chance but that's it. If Khan doesn't get sloppy Earl is in for a long painful night.

I think we alll agree though that we will learn more about Khan from this fight.

E · Post by E » 19 Oct 2007, 11:08

This is a good fight. I hope Earl blasts him out.

josh fg · Post by **josh fg** » 19 Oct 2007, 11:16

Terry D wrote:
The Blade wrote:
Terry D wrote: In my opinion Murray is better than Jon and Earl. He has youth and skills. His guard is getting better but, as John has said over and again, his style invites the other guy to open-up so John can go to work. If he fought more often he'd be our #1 prospect right now.

Technically I think John is a more rounded professional fighter and he has greater ring craft.
Nice bloke though he us, I reckon Murray will not go as far as Khan because he is too easy to hit. Khan is improving. Providing he is not a guest of her majesty because of the driving case, I think he beats Earl on speed. That Katsidis fight must have take a toll.
As is Khan. Limond opened him up with body shots and then found his chin an easy target so why not Murray? John might seem easier to hit but he's not been down that hard and heavy. For all the disputes over the first one Amir has been counted twice and the Limond KD'n was heavy and Limond worked it over the course of the early rounds.

A fight between the two would be a good spectacle.

I think that this fight is a bit like the early philisophical debates about how many angels can dance upon the head of a pin! It doesn't matter what the eventual answer is because no one can prove it ether way cos its never going to happen.

They are both good and promising fighters with rival promoters who are building respectability and I'm sure nether promoter wants to see there man stopped by the other. Furthermore the fight will always be worth more to Murray than it will to Khan because no one in this country has heard of him (ironic with him being the one who fought on the undercard of the biggest fight of the year) but what is in it for Khan. He could loose a fight to someone who although we know he is a good fighter has beaten no one.

THey should both concerntrate on there own carrers and who knows what woud happen in a couple of years.

josh fg · Post by **josh fg** » 19 Oct 2007, 11:17

E wrote:This is a good fight. I hope Earl blasts him out.

why so ITV will drop boxing and a nice kid gets beat up! Tosser!

KO Artist · Post by **KO Artist** » 19 Oct 2007, 11:28

Khans may be going down the toilet. This is a risky match to make, and one I reckon Frank would rather not make just yet at this moment.

Earl might stop him in 5, if Khan lets Bravado reach the surface.

johnswan1 · Post by **johnswan1** » 19 Oct 2007, 12:01

I am shocked at how much people are tipping Earl to KO Khan or even those who say it's a 50-50 fight. I think Khan wins this easily - Earl is made for him. All he needs to do is stay disciplined as he was in his last fight and he should be able to pick off Earl all night. He's not going to be standing on front of him trying to blast him out in a toe to toe battle, no chance. Khan will have the right game plan for this fight and will make it look easy. It'll be far more like Mayweather-Gatti than Earl-Katsidis.

WildWaylon · Post by **WildWaylon** » 19 Oct 2007, 12:07

KO Artist wrote:Khans career is going down the toilet. This is a silly match to make, and one I reckon Frank would rather not make just yet.

Earl will stop him in 5

Agree, but not sure about the round - I tend to think it will come a bit later - If you exclude the KO factor do you think Earl could beat Khan on points?

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 19 Oct 2007, 12:08

WildWaylon wrote:
KO Artist wrote:Khans career is going down the toilet. This is a silly match to make, and one I reckon Frank would rather not make just yet.

Earl will stop him in 5
Agree, but not sure about the round - I tend to think it will come a bit later - If you exclude the KO factor do you think Earl could beat Khan on points?

Doubt it, Earl will have to KO him to get a draw! ;)

KO Artist · Post by **KO Artist** » 20 Oct 2007, 07:57

WildWaylon wrote:
KO Artist wrote:Khans career is going down the toilet. This is a silly match to make, and one I reckon Frank would rather not make just yet.

Earl will stop him in 5
Agree, but not sure about the round - I tend to think it will come a bit later - If you exclude the KO factor do you think Earl could beat Khan on points?

I am certain he will KO him. THey are terrified of Khan being KO'd, but I suspect ITV want the match.

Have a good look at Khans opponenets to date. Collectively, they have a woefully low KO victory ratio.

Earl will rough him up and hit him VERY hard.

Dont think Khan should have taken this for another 12 months.

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 20 Oct 2007, 11:31

Khan could win this one, if he pulls out a punch perfect blitz, and lives up to his billing, but Earl will be one good counter punch away.

Both have been knocked down recently, but Earl was down against maybe the hardest punching lightweight in the world, while Khan was down against one of the lightest punchers in the division ( at top level ).

Plus Earl managed to knockover a world champ to boot. That pretty much spells out the risk here, and Frank will be wide awake worrying over this one.

Dec 8th is shaping up to be one hell of a weekend, and SN are doing the business for the UK side of it.

WildWaylon · Post by **WildWaylon** » 20 Oct 2007, 15:56

MightyWarrior wrote:Khan could win this one, if he pulls out a punch perfect blitz, and lives up to his billing, but Earl will be one good counter punch away.

Both have been knocked down recently, but Earl was down against maybe the hardest punching lightweight in the world, while Khan was down against one of the lightest punchers in the division ( at top level ).

Plus Earl managed to knockover a world champ to boot. That pretty much spells out the risk here, and Frank will be wide awake worrying over this one.

Dec 8th is shaping up to be one hell of a weekend, and SN are doing the business for the UK side of it.

A perfect explanation of how it is - I still say Frank was pushed into this one by ITV because I am sure he wouldnt have made the fight without a lot of pressure - I think Khan will pull out before the 8th Dec.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 20 Oct 2007, 18:17

steve689 wrote:
Terry D wrote:SN must be sure that he is ready to go in order to make this fight.
Exactly, they must be sure he is shot to bits to be making this one. Let's not count our chickens yet though, injuries can be the curse of the fight game.

This is what I've been thinking. Have they had word that he's looked shot in the gym since, has his balance or punch resistance left him?

If not, then this is a very risky fight, and even a shot Earl may land a humdinger which lands Khan in la-la land.