KHAN IN GREAT SHAPE FOR BARRERA

Posted on | March 6, 2009 | No Comments

Mar. 14 PPV show also features Maccarinelli-Afolabi & Cook-Martinez title fights

HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 2, 2009) – Amir Khan showed all the benefits of a lengthy training camp in California today as he wowed the press during a media workout in Bolton.

Looking in the shape of his life, Khan vowed to set up a world title opportunity when he faces Marco Antonio Barrera next weekend. The 22-year-old will meet the legendary Mexican March 14 at the M.E.N Arena in a fight that will effectively double as a WBO lightweight world title eliminator.

Integrated Sports is distributing three 12-round championship bouts featured on the “Khan-Barrera” pay-per-view card, presented by Frank Warren, in North America for live viewing at 4 PM/ET – 1 PM/PT on cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, TVN, DirecTV and Dish Network in the United States, as well as Viewer’s Choice, Shaw Cable, Star Choice and Bell TV in Canada, for a suggested retail price of only $24.95. A replay will be shown later that night starting at 9 PM/ET – 6 PM/PT. Veteran blow-by-blow announcer Ian Darke and color analyst, former WBC lightweight champion Jim Watt, will be calling the action from ringside for Sky Box Office and Integrated Sports PPV.

Khan has spent the last six weeks in LA working with acclaimed trainer Freddie Roach.
It follows an initial two-month spell on the west coast of America following his loss to Breidis Prescott. That training camp resulted in Khan beating Oisin Fagan at the ExCeL Arena in December, and he’s hoping for another victory under Roach on March 14.
The American will join Khan over the weekend.

“I can’t wait for the fight on Saturday,” said Khan. “I’ve still got to prove a few people wrong and hopefully I can do that against Barrera. “He’s a great fighter but I think his style is made for mine. This is the right fight at the right time for me. I’ve had a fantastic training camp in the States, and everything has gone brilliantly.

“Freddie is such a knowledgeable trainer and so is everyone around him. We’ve worked out a good game plan for Barrera, and now it’s a case of putting it into action.”

As he was ahead of the Fagan fight, Khan hasn’t bulked up in the States, suggesting, unsurprisingly, that he will be relying on his speed against Barrera.
“We’ve worked on my body shape and I’m happy with the way things have gone,” said Khan. “I felt so good against Fagan, we’ve done the same kind of things in camp fitness wise this time around.”

In addition to Khan-Barrera, two other fights will be broadcast on PPV: former WBO cruiserweight title-holder Enzo Maccarinelli (29-2, 22 KOs), the No. 1 contender, battles No. 2 rated and NABO champ Ola “Kryptonite” Afolabi (13-1-3, 5 KOs) for the vacant WBO cruiserweight championship; WBO super middleweight champion Nicky “Cookie” Cook (29-1, 16 KOs) defends his title belt against undefeated No. 1 contender Roman “Rocky” Martinez (21-0-1, 12 KOs).

Integrated Sports: North America’s leading distributor of International Pay-Per-View and Closed Circuit sports events is Integrated Sports. Among the many events brought to North American viewers by Integrated Sports include World Championship boxing matches featuring Ricky Hatton, Christian Mijares, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones, Jr., Nicolai Valuev and Ruslan Chagaev. In addition, Integrated Sports has distributed numerous International soccer matches showcasing teams like Club America of Mexico and the National Team of Argentina. For more information on upcoming Integrated Sports events visit www.integratedsportsnet.com.