Khan accused of cowardice

14 April 2012

Amir Khan has been accused of running scared rather than fight for the right to call himself England's best amateur boxer at his weight.

Khan would probably have qualified to face Londoner Michael Grant in tomorrow's Senior ABA Championship finals had the 18-year-old Olympic silver medallist not pulled out of the tournament in a controversial row over tickets.

Instead, he will be watching as a special ringside guest at the ExCel Centre in London's Docklands when Grant takes on Swindon's Jamie Cox for the lightwelterweight title.

Grant, a 21-year-old member of the Haringey Police Community boxing club, suspects the real reason Khan quit the ABA tournament was the fear that defeat would have hurt his value as a professional boxer.

He said: "Khan did the right thing for his career and whatever money he is being offered to turn professional. But if you want to be a champion you should go all the way and take on whoever is put in front of you.

"In that sense he was a bit cowardly. Maybe Khan has taken advice from people around him but he's the one going in the ring so he has the bigger say."

Grant revealed he is willing to give Khan another chance to prove himself in a special challenge bout next month.

Khan's possible swansong as an amateur is a headline appearance in a fundraiser for his Bury ABC at the Bolton Arena on 16 April. A rematch with Mario Kindelan, the Cuban veteran to whom he lost in the Olympic final, has yet to be confirmed and Khan has intimated he would be willing to take on the new ABA champion instead.

"I'd be up for it," said Grant. "We're going to fight sooner or later because, if we don't meet as amateurs, we're bound to meet as professionals."

Cox has stopped 11 of his last 13 opponents. Grant said of him: "I'm not really concerned. What gives me extra motivation is losing in last year's lightweight final. I was devastated. It's my dream to win an ABA title and I won't go professional until I've won one."

Another exciting London prospect, 19-year-old James Degale of the Dale Youth club in Shepherd's Bush, said: "I'm fed up with hearing Khan's name all the time. If he wants to turn pro then let him go and let the rest of us get on with it. Amateur boxing isn't only about Amir Khan. There's much more talent here than just him."

Degale, winner this year of a Junior Commonwealth Games gold medal, is now favourite to win the ABA middleweight title against Steve Mullins of Oxford.

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