Congratulations Amir

Congratulations to my friend Amir Khan who as I predicted in this column two weeks ago comprehensively beat Paulie Malignaggi in New York at the weekend. Just a s he did when I fought him Malignaggi had plenty to say before the fight however, unlike the other great talker Floyd Mayweather, Malgnaggi does not have the talent to back up his pre-fight boasts.

I am sure Amir will want to fight in Las Vegas, it is a tremendous buzz seeing your name in lights on the famous strip, however my advice would be to have a big fight in England this summer. Of all the great nights I have had, fighting in front of 58,000 people at the City of Manchester Stadium a couple of years ago is something I’m immensely proud of and will always have a special place in my heart.

There will be a lot of paper talk of Amir fighting myself but I would much prefer to promote him and am certain with my help he can become the big star that his talent deserves.

I have been back in training this past week but before people start putting two and two together it is not boxing related but my other great love, football. I will be representing England in the UNICEF football challenge against the Rest of the World at Old Trafford on the 6th June.

I celebrated my younger brother Matthew’s birthday this weekend and last week was the first anniversary of my health and fitness club in Hyde.

This Friday I am promoting Ryan Rhodes in his European defense over in Sheffield. The bill features St Helen’s Martin Murray who is challenging for the Commonwealth Middleweight title. Another fighter to look out for is 6’ 8” Richard Towers who I have high hopes for, excuse the pun, and I don’t think it will be long before he can fight Manchester’s Tyson Fury. The show also features Manchester fighters Andy Morris and Stephen Foster Junior who next season will be challenging for titles.

A week on Saturday I am bringing boxing back to Bury when Scott Quigg fights Andrei Kostin. There was a real buzz about the town and I’m sure the sellout crowd will have a night to remember. Scott is another fighter who I have high hopes for and I expect him to be either the British or European champion before the end of the year.