Amir Khan says he has no intention of relinquishing his WBA light-welterweight title in his first defence against Dmitriy Salita.
WBA champion working hard ahead of title defence
Amir Khan says he has no intention of relinquishing his WBA light-welterweight title in his first defence against Dmitriy Salita on December 5.
The Bolton fighter makes the transition from challenger to champion at the Newcastle Metro Arena after winning the belt with a points verdict over Andreas Kotelnik in July.
Salita became the mandatory challenger for Khan's title after beating Raul Munoz in May and the Englishman made an early return to training in a bid to ensure he is in the best possible shape for the fight.
"He's a great fighter, he's a great boxer," Khan said. "I don't know much about his amateur background but to be a number one mandatory, he must be good, and his record says it all.
"I know Dmitriy is going to come into this fight wanting to win this world title so it's going to be tough. I'm going to go in there and give it 110%.
"I want to keep hold of this belt. I worked so hard to achieve it and I'm going to work even harder to keep hold of it."
However, the undefeated Salita seems intent on proving Khan's detractors correct in what he admits is his 'biggest fight yet'.
"I'm just focused on doing what I need to do," said the New York-based Salita. "We did a teleconference last week and all the English writers were asking about his next fight. As far as I'm concerned there will be no next fight.
"Amir won't be defending his title. I'm coming to take it. I have a lot of respect for Amir, he's a great boxer and Freddie's a great coach, but I'm focused on doing what I need to do."
