Preview - Amir Khan v Graham Earl by Kevin Roberts Dec 7th 2007

It's easy to forget amidst the hulaballoo of a certain fight in Vegas that on this side of the pond we are going to be treated to another potential cracker courtesy of everyone's favourite Olympian Amir Khan. At the Bolton Arena a cracking 12-rounder sees Amir step up for his biggest test against tough, battle hardened Graham Earl with Khan's Commonwealth lightweight title up for grabs. Make no mistake - this is Amir's biggest test by a long way. Earl has fought on the fringes of world class, has featured in a war against Aussie sensation Michael Katzidis and has beaten a very good fighter in Yuri Romanov. If Amir thinks this is another stepping stone on the road to world titles he may be in for a rude awakening. Olympic silver medallist Khan has built up an impressive unbeaten record spanning 14 fights and, with 11 early nights, Amir has shown excellent power and speed. After a scare against Willie Limond where Khan was floored and looked in dire straits against the light punching Scot, Khan rebounded well in impressively stopping Scott Lawton in four rounds last time out. Khan with dazzling hand speed and power is a tough fight for any lightweight right now and the feeling here is that maybe Earl is the right opponent at just the right time. Earl will have other ideas, a pro for 10 years Earl has beaten many good fighters - Romanov, Bobby Vanzie and Steve Murray are good names on a good pro's record and Earl is said to well up for the challenge and wants to burst Khan's considerable bubble. So, the fight. Expect Khan to start fast but with a little more caution than usual, Earl will probably look to probe away and take over late in the fight exploiting Amir's untested stamina. However, easier said than done. Khan, with a lot of amateur experience, should not be underestimated should the going become rough. Indeed, I was impressed at the way he knuckled down to business after the scare against Limond. I suspect as Frank probably suspects, Earl is the right fight at the right time. The sort of war that Earl had against Katzidis has to take its toll – Michael Ayers springs to mind in the sense that after his two barnburners with Wayne Rigby the candle blew out soon afterwards. I believe Khan has learnt from the Limond fight and is very much on the up, Earl one suspects is slightly faded and coupled with the wear and tear from the Katzidis fight and change in trainer and I feel this all spells trouble. Khan starts fast, with a degree of caution and stops Earl in six exciting rounds. Interesting fights on the undercard see the return of Dean Francis and the return to British action for Contender star Paul Smith. All in all, more than an adequate appetiser for the Vegas action.

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