Boxing story by Fred Smith, Tue, 08 Nov 2005 20:52:00 GMT


Amir Khan's professional display at Glasgow over Walsall journeyman Steve Gethin on Saturday night may have earned him accolades, but he is not going to be rushed in preparing for London's ExCel Arena.

"It is important to take one step at a time. The time will come when I will have peaked and I will be strong and ready for everything else," said the genial Brit. "I am still on a big learning curve and every fight will be a learning experience until the big fights come. I learned a lot like I do in every fight, and I will go home and look at the video and look at ways to improve."

Even promoter Frank Warren has decided that caution is a virtue after the easy win over Gethin.

Gethin was steamrolled barely 49 seconds in round three at the Braehead Arena to give Khan his third professional win. Gethin has only won two of his previous fights, so Khan did not have to sweat much against him. "As much as we would like to keep him busy we don't want to be burning him out. It is not just about how regularly he is in the ring but it is about being in the gym as well," Warren said about his young charge, who intends to become Britain's youngest world champion by the age of 21.

Khan, an Olympic silver medallist has some problems with his hands though. He badly bruised them on Saturday, but his promoter says that it should not hamper his preparations for a grand London debut. The opponent for this bout has not yet been decided. "He never complains, but we are getting him checked out. He will be fighting in London, then having a break. He's earned it," Warren told reporters.

More Sporting Stuff