Ten months ago, after his defeat to Breidis Prescott, knocked out in under a minute, few gave Amir Khan any hope of winning a world title. How wrong they were. The 22-year-old from Bolton took the WBA crown with a landslide unanimous points victory over Ukrainian Andreas Kotelnik at the MEN Arena, Manchester, last night. Khan did the right thing afterwards, thanking those who had inspired cajoled and jostled him into a position to get there. “It’s the best feeling ever. First of all I want to thank God, thank my mum and dad and thank Freddie Roach for making this happen. Without the team I’ve got it wouldn’t have happened.” “I want to thank (promoter) Frank Warren. I’m sure we’ve got some big fights in the future coming up. The way my career’s gone, it’s gone brilliant. I’m a world champion now, I’m going to have a good break now and enjoy it. “(Roach) was very crucial. I listened to him and also Manny Pacquiao, what a great inspiration he is for making me win this fight – the sparring with him, the working out… just talking to Manny Pacquiao took me to a different level.” “The amateurish mistakes have gone now. Freddie Roach and the team, the sparring I’ve got in America is probably as tough as the fight here. I’m still young, I’m 22. I’ve got big things in the future to come.” Roach never let Khan off the leash. “I kept asking Freddie ‘is everything going okay?’ and Freddie said ‘yeah, stick to the gameplan and keep concentrating’ and that’s what I did. I was never thinking ‘I’ve won this fight’ because the fight’s not won till the last bell.” Warren is impressed by 22-year-old’s composure and much-improved defence. “I was really impressed with his composure, the way he went about his job,” he said. “He’s learned a lot out there with Freddie, there’s no doubt about that. His defence is much better. He took a couple of shots but that’s what happens in boxing. “Kotelnik’s a tough guy. He’s never been on the floor as an amateur or a pro and you can see why – most fighters would have been stopped by Amir with a performance like that.” Roach added: “Even when he was a little tired in 11 and 12 he sucked it up and fought on and fought hard. We have to improve in some places. He’s still a young man – he’s going to get a lot better.”
