Sometimes that first defence of your world title can be harder than actually winning it to start with.

That was certainly the case for me and something Amir Khan will have to be aware of on December 5.

When you have that belt, everyone is gunning for you, everyone puts that extra bit of effort in simply because they know it is their one crack at taking it off you.

Khan: make the most of him, says Glenn

Dmitriy Salita is the mandatory challenger, but he knows this is his one chance of becoming a world champion and he is an undefeated fighter, which also makes him that little bit more dangerous.

In boxing, you never know how good a guy is until he is beaten. We don't know whether Salita has been showing us everything he has got, or whether he is actually got a lot more to offer.

Myself and Ian Darke have covered a fair few of his early fights and he is a lovely kid, very down to earth. He could turn out to be very, very good and maybe things just haven't come his way... until now.

He will come to Newcastle probably thinking he's got a chance if he catches Amir on the chin as well.

Concentrate

Funnily enough though, that Breidis Prescott defeat might be the best thing that's happened to Khan, a real blessing in disguise.

He knows now that he cannot under-estimate anybody and he knows he is going to have to work hard and concentrate for every second of every fight.

But there's one thing Amir Khan doesn't mind and that is a bit of hard work. He has done everything possible to become a world champion and I am sure that he won't have let up.

He's such a nice kid, so polite and humble and so eager to impress and I was delighted when he beat Andriy Kotelnik, absolutely delighted.

I really, really hope the Newcastle crowd get behind him, and I am sure they will. I think Amir deserves the full support of the British sporting public and I hope people realise what a great kid we have in front of us, in and out of the ring.

Treasure

I worry we don't appreciate Amir enough and what he is doing for this country. Yes, he is naturally proud of his Pakistan heritage and roots but he brought Great Britain Olympic success and flies the flag brilliantly for both countries. He is a real treasure and one we should be proud of.

The bill also gives us the chance to see some of Britain's other great young prospects, not least Kevin Mitchell who, of course, takes on Prescott.

That will be fascinating to see, not only because there will always be talk of a Khan-Prescott rematch, but also because Mitchell's career has kind of stalled over the last couple of years.

He was touted for big things but seemed to go off the boil and has now moved up to lightweight.

Prescott lost his last fight of course and will no longer be climbing into the ring as an unknown quantity, so it will be interesting to see how he handles that. If Mitchell can win this, it will do him the world of good and will get him plenty of credit and bargaining power when you're talking about world titles.

We also have James DeGale, Frankie Gavin and Billy Joe Saunders in action on the night, finally moving up to six rounds, while Alex Arthur looks to reignite his career as a lightweight and Enzo Maccarinelli is also back after deciding - unwisely or not - to box on.

It should be a great, great night whether you're there in Newcastle or watching on Sky Box Office.

Hopefully it will be the night when Britain really starts to appreciate what we've got in Amir Khan.

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