IT?S not known whether Amir Khan prefers tea to coffee or whether he ? or indeed anyone apart from Sting ? likes his ?toast done on one side?. You can certainly hear it in his broad Bolton accent when he talks however and, after a week in which it appeared the WBA light-welterweight champion could be an illegal alien, he is now, finally, an Englishman in New York.
Okay so that opening paragraph would have gone over the head of anyone unfamiliar with the back catalogue of The Police, but after finding himself stranded in Vancouver for longer than he would have liked, Khan has now flown into the Big Apple ahead of his US debut this Saturday against local Paulie Malignaggi. It is a huge opportunity for the former Olympic silver medallist to achieve what Robbie Williams and Oasis were never able to ? yes, Khan has a chance to crack America.
The week just gone has not been one of Khan?s best. Past transgressions held up his application for a US visa ? Amir now has one, he is in America legally. Plus the News of the World exposed Khan allegedly exposing himself last Sunday. Incidentally, what is it about celebrities from Bolton and (allegedly) sending dodgy texts and pictures to models? First Vernon Kay, now Khan, we may as well run a book on who gets caught next ? Peter Kaye 5-1, Paddy McGuiness evens. What would Nat Lofthouse say?
In all seriousness, it has not been ideal preparation for one of the biggest events of Khan?s young life. Fortunately, he has a tight support network around him including his close-knit family and one of the best trainers in the world in Freddie Roach. They will do all they can to alleviate any outside distractions. You can bet this whole time Malignaggi has been keeping his head down ? trash-talking to help promote the fight aside ? and focusing on the task in hand.
But for Khan, this is about more than simply beating Malignaggi, which I believe he has the tools to do relatively comfortably. This is about making a memorable first impression on the country where he intends to ply his trade, on and off, for the rest of his career. The last great young Brit to be brought across the Atlantic with similar fanfare was Naseem Hamed and the parallels are hard to ignore. Both are British-born Muslims who polarise public opinion, both chose New York for their US debuts and hometowners for their opponents ? Kevin Kelley for Naz ? and both have big expectations to contend with. Hamed was 23 and had been a pro for five-and-a-half years when he starred in that thrilling five-knockdown spectacle against Kelley in 1997. Khan is 23 and will hit the five-year mark in his pro career in July.
The similarities are many but they would appear to end there. Malignaggi will not engage in a shootout with Khan, so while their contest may well be entertaining, it will not match Hamed-Kelley. Khan can also not equal Hamed?s flair, although he is clearly the better conventional boxer. Amir has fast hands, puts his shots together well and can punch respectably but Naz unleashed punches from angles protractors would find hard to measure and hit like a welterweight at least. He also loved to showboat ? often to his cost ? and made the majority of his fights into theatre.
The biggest difference between the two however is outside the ring and that is where Khan could fall down in America where everything is bigger and more flamboyant that in the stiff-upper-lipped UK. Naz was a super talker, his immense self-belief and quick wit meant he could sell himself like no British fighter before him. That, with kindness is not Khan.
I interviewed Amir a few weeks ago for the magazine, the results of which are in last Friday?s (May 7) issue. He was friendly, happy to answer every question and is clearly a nice guy ? still down-to-Earth, loves his family etc. But he?s not the most articulate ? lots of ?errs? plus ?and stuffs? at the end of sentences ? or engaging. He clearly believes in himself ? perhaps not as much as Naz but then who did? ? but that vibrancy does not always come across in interviews. This could hinder him in the US which, even more than here, is fixated by the cult of personality. Their stars ? not just great fighters, but crossover stars ? must be larger than life, always ready with a soundbite and know how to work the media. Look at Floyd Mayweather, a great fighter but also a great mouthpiece, check out Manny Pacquiao, who does not speak great English but does impressions, sings, is always smiling. Bernard Hopkins, Vic Darchinyan, the list goes on and on? selling yourself is almost as vital as winning fights. Even in Britain, a novice pro heavyweight like Tyson Fury got more press and provoked more fan opinion than many European and ?world? champions, purely due to he and his team talking the giant up.
This does not need to be a fatal blow for Khan. There is no shame in asking for help, getting some expert coaching on how to conduct interviews, especially on TV where body language and facial expression are also important. Khan has a pretty exciting in-ring style, he?s not a bad looking lad ? so I?m told ? and, removed from the formalised interview process, has a good sense of humour. He just needs someone to bring that out of him during the more regimented media engagements he has to undertake. Then he?ll really hit the big-time.
The next Naz? That?s pushing it; they broke the mould when they made Hamed. Until next time?
