If Amir Khan wants to impress America there is no better time, or opponent, says Jim Watt in his preview.
Amir needs to put on a show if he wants to go to America
There's no doubt Amir Khan is ready to become a marquee fighter over in the United States.
I think he's done the right thing since the Breidis Prescott fight, the way he's rebounded has been fantastic. He's done exactly the right thing in going woth Freddie Roach, who is without doubt, the best coach in the business.
He's training in the best camp and because of that his confidence is growing and he surprised me how quickly he won the world title because I really did think it would be a long rebuild after that shocking loss.
We always knew he had talent from his amateur days and every time we see him fight, but there was an awful lot of flaws. Freddie Roach has made a big difference but to be honest it wasn't difficult because those flaws were so basic; his chin was up all the time, he was just throwing punches, not thinking about what was coming back.
His tactics therefore were perfect in beating Andriy Kotelnik - and he looked good doing it. But if you want to become a marquee fighter in the States, then I think we need to see a but more in his performance against Dmitriy Salita.
We need to see that him stand with people a little more and taken punches; we know how fast he is, how talented he is and we know he can box rings around people, but I don't want him to become the next Pernell Whittaker!
Entertainment
If Amir wants to fight on the biggest stage of all in America, he has to have people on the edge of their seats. I want to see a little bit more devil in his performance, because we all hope he can become a fighter that the Americans really take to. They already know he has the talent, but he has to show he is big box office, good entertainment value.
And I think Salita might be the perfect opponent for Amir to make that point. He'll be looking to draw Khan into a bit of a punch-up because he knows he can't cope with his speed. Salita is a good all-round fighter who is well-schooled; he hasn't had the red-carpet treatment or taken any shortcuts, he has had to fight his way into this position and he's taken him some time, so he's ready.
Unlike Amir, who got a second chance after Prescott, he knows this is it for him. He knows this is the one and only chance he'll get and if he doesn't win on Saturday, he'll be looking for a job come Sunday. That in itself raises the stakes immediately.
Salita's one big advantage is he's a big light-welterweight. Look at his record and for most of his 31 fights he's weighed around 10st 4lbs and if you look at the clips of him preparing we've been showing on
Sky Sports, he's wearing the plastic sweat suit.
That means he is stripping down to make the weight, and with the 24-hour weigh-in he will have a considerable advantage over Khan, who is coming up from lightweight.
Everyone says he is all about counter-punching, but Salita will have to go looking for him because he's got to deal with Khan's speed and I can't see him countering that - he's too quick. The challenger will have to try and lead off a bit; he's away from home and the onus will be on him to win rounds.
That means he will be there to hit and I am certain he will be a lot easier to hit that Kotelnik. Defensively he is very good and it's not easy to catch him cleanly, but that night Amir was the challenger and it was all about getting the verdict. There was no point in looking good.
Full-blooded
But this time it's different. He is the champion now, we need him to show that bit of grit, that willingness to get involved more.
Having been out in Las Vegas recently, I know the Americans already know about Amir's talent, but they still remember the Prescott fight, so there's still question marks about his chin. That in itself will endear him to them, but we are yet to see him take a full-blooded shot and Salita will have to try and land at some stage.
Salita knows how to get close to fighters and Khan will be able to catch him cleanly. I just hope we see him stay in there a little longer, exchange some big blows before getting out again. We know he has no problem doing the 12 rounds, even if the Kotelnik fight wasn't a physical war, and I do expect we'll see a similar kind of gameplan this time round.
But I do expect him to keep him range more and I do think he'll go looking for that stoppage. He didn't feel he could stop Kotelnik - and nor did I - but if he is really switched on, he should be able to get Salita out of there in latter stages.
If he wants America to take notice, that is the least he can afford to do.
