BoxRec

CRAIG Watson has "gone missing" after Amir Khan said he wanted to fight the only boxer to have put him on the floor.

Khan's next fight is at Bolton Arena on September 2 and Watson has been given the chance to prove himself again.

The Mancunian is the only boxer to have floored Khan when he stunned the Olympic silver medallist at the ABAs in Preston shortly before Khan turned professional.

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But attempts to contact Watson to arrange a rematch have failed and Khan has warned the 23-year-old this is the last chance he will get.

Watson's manager, Frank Maloney, said this week the date would be too soon for his fighter, who has been out of the gym due to personal reasons.

However, Khan has warned him it is "now or never" if they are to go toe-to-toe a second time.

Khan said: "If they can get that fight, what a fight it will be in Bolton. The crowd want to see it and I want it, it would be good.

"In a way I'm giving him a chance to fight me. There are so many people out there who want to, but I'm giving Craig Watson a chance to fight me.

"These chances won't come again because, if I go on, I don't think he'll get a chance to fight me again. Hopefully he'll take it.

Khan dismissed the knockdown in their first fight last year as "a stupid shot" and has no qualms about meeting Watson again.

"He caught me with a good shot, it was a silly shot to get caught with. But I got up and pressured him back, he should have been on top of me straightaway after he put me down but it was the opposite.

"It shows me I can take a shot and come back from a good shot. It didn't dishearten me, it didn't break me down. I came back and won the fight easily. I beat him. A lot of people in my position wouldn't even give him a chance to fight me.

"I know I won't make that mistake again and I know he won't catch me again with a stupid shot because I won't let him.

"There is unfinished business and I can put things straight by fighting him.

"I can show people that in the first fight it was just a mistake, and prove it in the second fight."

"A lot of people in my position wouldn't even give him a chance to fight me."

- Get over yourself Khan.

I am starting to dislike this upstart.

Where is all this mouth coming from? What has happened to the self effacing kid who came home from the Olympics.

Aye, I agree with you Terry. He's getting too big for his boots already, it didn't take long did it. He believes his own hype, he talks about a world title but lets be honest I think some of the good young british prospects would give him a fright. Let's see how he gets on against a young hungry talented fighter with a dent dig. "He's lucky to get a chance to fight me" patter is a lot of tosh, he should keep his trap shut and try to learn the game a bit better. Kind of reminds me of his Prince Naz.

At least his arragonce will pressure FW in making better fights.

The only reason he's feeling so brave about fighting Watson is because the guy has been out since November.

Frank appears keen for the fight also and the amateur fight is a good selling point for ITV.

It's not lost on me how the the Khan camp feel so confident when yet again they hold all the advanatges.

And I still maintain he is an accident waiting to happen :p

Perhaps he seen how much money Naz made by becoming the cocky star of boxing.

Now that people are comparing him to Naz he might be thinking"I could do that too"

A prospect.....yes
A naseem Hamed......far from it.

Put him in with Ricky burns or even Young Mutley(Mut is going down to LightWelter and Kahn has shown he can fight at Lightwelter no probs)

Its the best way to learn your trade, you will learn better from mistakes than successes.

Its a typical british opinion that once a fighter has a defeat on their record then they are finished, I think its quite the opposite.

A defeat will tidy up Amir's game ten fold and then he will concentrate more on boxing and less on "im a celebrity, look at me"


What about a fight with Andre Berto sometime down the line, I reckon Berto will be a world champ within 3 years, I also think he would destroy Kahn within a round or two.

Putting him in with Burns or Muttley is a terrible idea , I mean step him up ya but not that much . Muttley would KO him in the first with a left hook and Burns would easily school him and if he sits down on his shots(like he has in his last two fights) he would also Ko Khan .

Some of thr following fighters would be a good step up for Khan : Kevin O'Hara , Stefy Bull , Ryan Barret , Gary Reid , Alan Bosworth , Anthony Maynard , Dean Phillips . If I was to pick one i'd go for Gary Reid .

TerribleTerry wrote:"A lot of people in my position wouldn't even give him a chance to fight me."

- Get over yourself Khan.

I am starting to dislike this upstart.

Where is all this mouth coming from? What has happened to the self effacing kid who came home from the Olympics.

Asians + Money = Attitude.

Loftgroov wrote:

TerribleTerry wrote:"A lot of people in my position wouldn't even give him a chance to fight me."

- Get over yourself Khan.

I am starting to dislike this upstart.

Where is all this mouth coming from? What has happened to the self effacing kid who came home from the Olympics.

Asians + Money = Attitude.

a bit of a sweeping statment. I think it comes more from the PR people I read an interview with skelton the other day and he was saying that most of the trash talking is from FW

Don't see the problem with him hyping up a grudge match - if it means more print and ITV ratings then all well and good - after all, the name of the game is M-O-N-E-Y.

And he's right: at this level, you get more for a 6 rounder v Khan than any other fighter in the UK, so naturaly fighters are queing up to face him.

It's a chance at live coverage of your fight on TV with millions watching: where else are they gonna get that for a 6 rounder?
Plus it's a chance at the big breakthrough, if you manage to clock the golden boy a good un on the chin.

It's a lottery ticket for his opponents, if they can fight a bit that is.

Loftgroov wrote:?

Asians + Money = Attitude.[/quote]

Chillout m8 we arent all like that! If I had money I'd still be pretty humble. BTW im of indian descent as broke as fcuk!

I hope this fight comes off, but wish Amir would lose this arrogance that's appeared of late. He'll want to punish Watson, so we might get a few rounds of controlled boxing, rather than the erratic all out style of his last fight.

black panther wrote:

Loftgroov wrote:?

Asians + Money = Attitude.

Chillout m8 we arent all like that! If I had money I'd still be pretty humble. BTW im of indian descent as broke as fcuk! [/quote]

Sorry - it was meant slightly tongue in cheek, which you can’t really convey in text. I suppose it’s more likely his age and being surrounded by too many people telling him how wonderful he is, wanting a slice of the action and probably telling him “what’s best”.

ANyone notice Watson is a Welter, and Amir is still fighting at 135?

Khan has not weighed in at 135 yet, his future lies in the light welters no doubt.

If Craig Watson has been out of training since last Novemeber, them Khan might as well be fighting a watermelon. Fancy going after a fighter who has not trained for around 8months!

Is it me, or does anyone else feel Amir is becoming a bit too ahead of himself, maybe a bit arrogant etc? No doubt he has talent, but being humble and modest can go along way!

Khan will not be put in with anyone deangerous or a real threat to him because there is so much money involved with him.

Rocky Balboa wrote:If Craig Watson has been out of training since last Novemeber, them Khan might as well be fighting a watermelon. Fancy going after a fighter who has not trained for around 8months!

Is it me, or does anyone else feel Amir is becoming a bit too ahead of himself, maybe a bit arrogant etc? No doubt he has talent, but being humble and modest can go along way!

Khan will not be put in with anyone deangerous or a real threat to him because there is so much money involved with him.

so khan is a little arrogant. big f*cking deal.

virtually every fighter out there is cocky and arrogant. this is boxing not tiddlywinks.

khan is gonna talk himself up and says he's the best. it's up to khan to prove he's the best and back it up.

BigEars wrote:Putting him in with Burns or Muttley is a terrible idea , I mean step him up ya but not that much . Muttley would KO him in the first with a left hook and Burns would easily school him and if he sits down on his shots(like he has in his last two fights) he would also Ko Khan .

Some of thr following fighters would be a good step up for Khan : Kevin O'Hara , Stefy Bull , Ryan Barret , Gary Reid , Alan Bosworth , Anthony Maynard , Dean Phillips . If I was to pick one i'd go for Gary Reid .

I meant he should be working towards a fight of that calibre, at his present rate he will become the next Kevin Mitchell(I think Mitchell is progressing far too slowly)

Imagine Khan in with fellow Light-Welter prospect Rock Allen, he'd get murdered, Allen is a few years older but pretty much the same amount of fights fought.

i wouldnt put him in with a light welter now. c'mon he doesnt know what a true lightweight feels like yet.

hype hype hype, guess we have to live with it

True lets see him in with a true lightweight first!

Phenomenal-Nutrition wrote:Imagine Khan in with fellow Light-Welter prospect Rock Allen, he'd get murdered, Allen is a few years older but pretty much the same amount of fights fought.

ha ha i was thinking that last night.

send him down philly way for some sparring with him.

that'll knock some sense into him.

I think Amir does deserve to be cut some slack.... I'm mean, did he actually say any of this? When have you heard him being interviewed sounding like this press release.

All young prospects need total confidence...even though we all know they act that way to hide their real insecurities

But just like the raw novice who plays up when told they haven`t been matched..we know its a bluff as much for their benefit as for ours

But the thing with Khan he has `great expectations` we are forever being told he is a dead cert for a world title.....no f-king chance :x

He ain`t got no real punch and his (lack of) defence means his suspect chin is going to be really tested...and if his defence don`t get no better he can wear Eubanks chin and he will still get chilled by the l-welters he`ll face ...ok...when he reaches real title contention ...in 10yrs time

I`m thinking another Audley
A failure in boxing terms...from a fans perspective anyways

But a success in the real reason most turn pro for..the money

Either way history remembers only in one of two ways...good or bad

Most here know amateur is a completely different game to the pro game...and these over hyped amateurs are spelling it out to the general public...so is that a good thing for amateur boxing? will the top boys stay there long?? or just do their 2-3yrs apprentice and throw away the vest??

Fwank will do a fantastic job with Khan, but I just think he would have had a better canvas with a Burns or Murray :(

Here we are almost 2 years later from the start of this thread and Khan is still facing the powder puff guys

Come on Amir, get the finger out of your ass and fight somebody who'll fight back.