Khan to star in Brum billing

Khan: Birmingham debut

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Amir Khan will headline Birmingham's National Indoor Arena on Saturday, June 21 as he continues his quest towards securing a world title fight.

However, the undefeated 21-year-old will have a brief wait before promoter Frank Warren reveals who his challenger will be in the Midlands.

Khan, the Commonwealth and WBO inter-continental lightweight champion, has dazzled fans across Great Britain during his 17-fight professional career, and has now revealed his delight at bringing big time boxing back to Birmingham.

Passionate

"Since turning professional I've boxed in most of the major cities in Britain and I'm excited that my next fight will be in Birmingham," said Khan.

"I get fan mail from all around the country but the majority I receive is from Birmingham and the question is always the same: 'when are you going to fight here'?

"I've boxed there as an amateur and I know that the fans are very passionate and love their boxing so I'm expecting a great turn out from the public to make it a great night."

Khan was last in action earlier on April 5 when he put in an impressive display to defeat world-ranked Dane Martin Kristjansen.

Complete performance

The highly-rated Scandinavian had never been stopped in 24 previous fights, and Khan - who recorded a seventh round stoppage, ranks his recent home-town success as his best performance to date.

Khan said: "I'm getting better and better with each fight and my last fight against Kristjansen, which I believe was my most complete performance yet, proved how far I have come in a short period of time.

"Of course there are still plenty of things that I need to improve on in the gym but I feel that I am on the right track to win a world title."

Also amongst the Birmingham billing is the star of hit TV reality show The Contender, Paul Smith, who will defend his English middleweight title against Steve Bendall in a potentially explosive showdown.

A special attraction on the card sees former Birmingham City midfielder Curtis Woodhouse make a return to the city.

Woodhouse has swapped his boots for boxing gloves and the light-middleweight, currently unbeaten in five fights, will aim to become the first footballer ever to win a British title.