I thought Amir Khan was absolutely excellent on Saturday night, outstanding.

He did everything right against a very strong, very game champion, who had definitely come to keep his title.

I have to admit I didn't expect Andreas Kotelnik to be as lively and as fired up as he was, but he showed us all what a good fighter and worthy world champion.

Khan: fired back fatser and harder when he was tagged

And in turn, that made Amir Khan's achievement even greater.

He just handled it all, took everything in his stride. I did wonder whether the occasion would get to him - he is just a kid after all - but he looked like he belonged there.

It showed the value of a good corner, a good trainer in Freddie Roach and it showed that Amir listened perfectly to the instructions and the gameplan.

And you could see it. You could tell that he knew he had a huge task on his hands and had to concentrate for every minute of every round. But he did the job he had to and did it very well - and thoroughly deserved to win.

Dedicated

It's amazing really because 10 months ago, no-one would have given him a hope in hell of doing anything in the sport, let alone winning a world title at light-welterweight in such a short space of time.

It just goes to show what can be achieved with hard work and dedication and proved that anything is attainable if you are dedicated and give it everything. That is what Amir does and that is why I am so delighted for him.

He is a smashing lad who really wants to be successful and really wants to be a great champion and I am sure this is only just the beginning.

If there was one slight downside, it was that he never really dented Kotelnik's defence. We know the Ukrainian has a decent chin, but I wonder if Amir is not going to be that strong up at light-welterweight, but he barely broke through.

But, what he did do was put on a boxing exhibition and a great lesson for any kids watching. What impressed me the most was whenever Kotelink caught him, Amir fired back immediately, with more and at blistering speed.

Every time Kotelnik threatened to get on top, he was their firing back and you can see why the judges scored it so heavily in his favour because every round, he did more.

Anchored

I liked the look of his defence as well. When Kotelnik was coming on strong, he planted his feet and anchored himself. When he was knocked over in the past, it was because he was always on the move. It's like standing on a bus that's going round a corner; if you're moving you will fall over, so you plant your feet and set your legs.

Amir also did the same when he was punching, although he was soon on his toes and out of range again. It really was the perfect gameplan from Freddie Roach and it couldn't have been executed better.

I do hope it will now mean people get of the lad's back a bit as well. I think he is great for British boxing and a definite superstar in the making, but up until now, he hasn't had the best support from the British boxing public.

But I've got to say, that seemed to change on Saturday night. It wasn't quite one of those MEN Arena nights with Ricky Hatton, but the crowd were with Amir every step of the way.

Their hearts were in their mouths towards the end and they were cheering whenever he let those fast hands go - but you could tell everybody was willing him to win.

Where he goes from here is what we are all waiting to find out. There is lots of talk of America and the weight is also an issue. I happen to think he might just be better off as a big lightweight, but that division is red-hot right now and there are some extremely lucrative, but dangerous, fights out there.

Then again, he is a world champion at light-welterweight, so will probably defend that first, which is fair enough. But I just have a feeling that maybe four or five years down the line, when he has properly filled out, he will be strong light-welter.

Supporter

But I understand there are some decent fights out there for him at 140lbs as well - but I really, really don't want to see him in with Hatton.

Ricky is a great friend and supporter of Amir and I know Amir looks up to him, so is it a fight either of them needs? Ricky owes no-one anything, so why should he take it?

Besides, we have Junior Witter fighting for the WBC light-welterweight title in a few weeks, so if he wins that, there's a domestic fight with plenty of interest for Khan - and of course, one that Hatton never wanted.

Amir is already talking of fighting in America, but I don't think he is ready for that just yet. I know he's based out there, but I would like to see him really conquer Britain first, over the next few fights.

Ricky and Frank Bruno were massively popular before they went over to the States, and took huge numbers with them. If Amir went right now, he would probably on take a handful with him, so maybe he needs a little more time to build up that fanbase first.

We'll have to wait and see what Team Khan decide, but Saturday night's performance was the perfect platform for him to kick on from. And the one thing we can be certain of, is there's plenty more to come.

Where and who should Amir Khan fight next? What did you make of the performance on Saturday night? Let us know by filling in the feedback form below...

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