Amir "King" Khan Is Ready to Become Boxing Royalty This Saturday

WBA world light welterweight champion Amir “King” Khan will defend his crown against undefeated Irishman Paul “Dudey” McCloskey Saturday, at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England.

Khan  (24-1, 17 KOs), a Pakistani-British boxer who became the youngest Englishman to win an Olympic medal when he captured a silver as a lightweight at the 2004 Games in Greece, last fought in December when he beat the tough “El Chino” Marcos Maidana by unanimous decision to retain his belt.

Khan and Maidana (30-2, 27 KOs) were deservedly awarded the “Fight of the Year” by the Boxing Writers Association of America for their epic battle last winter.

“King Khan” is a prizefighter who possesses unlimited potential and abilities in the ring, and he doesn’t really have any glaring warts in his arsenal.

Prior to his violent struggle with Maidana, critics contended Khan had a suspect chin.

In September 2008, Khan was demolished by Breidis Prescott when he suffered a first round knockout loss that cost him his WBO Intercontinental lightweight crown.

During the brief massacre, Khan was knocked down twice by Prescott (23-2, 19 KOs) and was ultimately beaten a mere 54 seconds into the opening round.

As noted by his sensational knockout percentage, Maidana is an extremely potent puncher who could have sent Khan onto Queer Street with any number of the powerful blows he connected on.

Nevertheless, a bloodied and battered Khan absorbed ample punishment and still managed to fight with a purpose and emerge victorious.

Since partnering with legendary trainer Freddie Roach, Khan has rebounded nicely from his loss to Prescott and the Englishman has now triumphed in six consecutive bouts.

"He is a whole different fighter," Roach, 50, a native of Dedham (Mass.) who was voted Trainer of the Year on four occasions by the Boxing Writers Association of America, said.

"He's 100 percent better. I've never had a fighter to listen so well, take direction as well and stick to the game plan as well as Amir Khan. He's really become a very good professional fighter. He knows how to fight. He likes to [mix it up] a little bit too much sometimes, I think, but I won't take that away from him because he knows when to do it and when not to."

Khan is so much better now that he apparently trumped iconic pugilist Manny Pacquiao on numerous recent sparring sessions that Roach oversaw.

"Some days he got a bit of the best of Manny, some days Manny got the best of him," Roach said to the Associated Press during a December press conference. "It was explosive. It was like a cockfight.”

At only 24, Khan is an elite talent who clearly has a gleaming future in the ring.

McCloskey (22-0, 12 KOs) is a rugged southpaw who should give Khan a decent scrap.

Still, Khan is a supreme pugilist and he is already prepared to become the “King” of the light welterweight division.

Expect the precocious Englishman to overcome the formidable Irishman within eight rounds this weekend.