Khan inside the weight

Champion confident he will take care of heavier opponent

Last updated: 4th December 2009  

It's a big chance for him but I can see fear in his eyes. He looked very drained with the weight and I think that will be to my advantage

Amir Khan
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KING KHAN THE FIRST DEFENCE
Amir Khan v Dmitriy Salita
WBA Light-Welterweight title
Live on Sky Box Office & in HD
8.00pm, Saturday, December 5
Channel 743 & 752
Call 08442 410888 for details

Also see

Amir Khan easily weighed in inside the limit for the defence of his WBA light-welterweight title - but opponent Dimitry Salita was forced to strip naked to make sure he came in at 10stone exactly.

The Brooklyn-based Ukrainian took everything off and was still bang on 140lbs for Saturday's Sky Box Office bout in Newcastle.

Khan had no such worries when it was his turn to step on the scales, coming in at half-a-pound lighter than the challenger.

The British boxer will be making the first defence of the title he claimed back in July and believes Salita's weight issues will work in his advantage.

Struggling

"A lot of people said they saw him this morning running. He's been struggling making the weight," Khan told Sky Sports News.

"That's an advantage for me because I made this weight so easily. I had breakfast this morning and just before coming here Alex (Ariza) wanted me to have another energy drink just to put everything back in and replenish my body.

"It's a big chance for him but I can see fear in his eyes. He looked very drained with the weight and I think that will be to my advantage."

Although he may have struggled to get inside the limit, Salita will now have the chance to eat properly before he steps in between the ropes.

Khan knows he will be the lighter of the two fighters by the time the first bell sounds but believes he will have no trouble coping thanks to the careful planning of trainer Freddie Roach.

"It's going to be tough, no matter what," he admitted. "He's been campaigning at light-welterweight for a long, long time.

"What Freddie has done for this fight is get me to spar with a lot of lightweight and light-middleweight guys. I was handling them in the sparring, so I should handle this guy as well."

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