Amir believes legendary status is his for the taking (From Asian Image)

Amir believes legendary status is his for the taking

9:19am Friday 18th November 2011 in Sport

AMIR Khan insists he can be as big as Manny Pacquaio – if he keeps winning in style.

The Filipino superstar is already a boxing legend after becoming the only fighter to be crowned world champion at eight different weights.

But Khan, who defends his WBA and IBF light-welterweight title against Lamont Peterson in Washington DC next month, believes he can emulate training-partner Pacquaio’s global appeal.

The 24-year-old Bolton ace said: “I train hard and I perform. What it really comes down to is winning.

As long as I keep winning fights and winning over more fans, I’ll become as well known as Manny.

“I have all the power and speed on my side to beat Lamont Peterson.

I think this will be my toughest test, but I think I will win and do it in good style. I’m expecting a big fight to end the year. It’s going to be explosive in the ring on December 10.

“Lamont Peterson is on the same level as me, but if you ask me if he’s going to beat me, I would say he’s good and he’s strong and on my level, but he won’t beat me. He’s tricky. He’s tall and he’s strong. We all know how good Victor Ortiz is, and to get knocked down and come out with a draw is impressive.

“We are going to be ready for whatever Lamont Peterson brings into the ring. We know exactly what we want to do. If we follow our game plan and don’t make any mistakes, we’ll be fine.

“Alex Ariza [Khan’s conditioning coach] and I have been working hard. He’s killing me in the gym, but I enjoy that. I like to leave the gym feeling tired, like I’ve worked out hard.”

But American Peterson, who has lost just once – against Timothy Bradley in December 2009 – in 31 fights, plans to cause an upset in his home town next month.

“I’m much more comfortable at this level,” said the 27-year-old.

“I feel at ease and I know that, on December 10, I’m going to go out there and it’s going to be another day of boxing. It’s something I’ve been doing for 17 years.

“To me, Khan is similar to Tim Bradley. They are hustle fighters.

They just try to outpoint you.

“A taller fighter is always easier for me than a shorter fighter, so overall, I’d say Khan is about the same challenge as Victor Ortiz or Bradley.

“I would say I’m the toughest fighter Khan has faced so far. In a lot of his fights, he’s fought older or much shorter fighters and he had a lot of physical advantages over them. He’s not going to have any of those advantages over me.”

Khan’s trainer, Freddie Roach, however, is confident his man will triumph. He said: “Amir is coming along well; he has been looking very impressive. He’s just getting better and better, especially coming off a good win [against Zab Judah].

“Amir has a tough guy in front of him but he’s ready. We have had great sparring and he looks impressive. He has great movement in the gym. You just want him to carry that into the fight.”