This Saturday, April 21st, former unified 140-lbs world champion Amir Khan makes his return to in-ring competition for the first time in two years. Khan will hope an impressive win over loudmouth Canadian Phil Lo Greco in Liverpool can put him back on the doorstep of world title contention in the welterweight division.
When Amir Khan [31-4, 19 KO’s] dared to be great in May of 2016, not many, if anybody gave him a chance of upsetting the odds of jumping two weight classes to defeat then WBC Middleweight Champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez [49-1-2, 34 KO’s]. Although down on two of the three judges scorecards, Khan actually began extremely well in the fight, and in the eyes of many, warranted a lead of at least one round through the first five. This good start was short-lived, however, as Canelo landed a ferocious overhand right on the chin of Khan that put the Bolton man out for the count. It was the third big knockout defeat of Khan’s career, he wouldn’t lace up a pair of gloves again for the next two years, and many fans were left wondering if the curtain had come down on the talented Olympian’s career.
Then, back in January of this year, the next big step of his career was revealed. Khan signed a three-fight deal with the promotional stable Matchroom Boxing. The first test of Khan’s comeback mission was announced as Canadian Phil LoGreco [28-3, 15 KO’s]. Toronto native Lo Greco brings to the table a respectable record, with two of his three losses coming at the hands of world champions, Shawn Porter and Errol Spence Jr. Spence is the only one to dispatch of him.
The fight was officially announced to the public at a press conference on January 30th at the Hilton Hotel, Liverpool, for April 21st at the city’s Echo Arena. It will be the first time Khan has fought in his home country since defeating Julio Diaz in Sheffield five years ago. The first press conference was a hot-tempered affair, with Lo Greco donning sunglasses and subjecting Khan to a personal verbal tirade in an attempt to get under his skin. Lo Greco stated: ”After the Canelo loss, you went on a losing streak. Family, wife, then… woah, woah, woah. Guys this is not Pakistan versus India, it’s not a cricket match.”.
Khan was happy to sit there and laugh off the jibes until the brash Canadian made things personal, and brought up the very public dispute between Khan and his wife Faryal Makhdoom in 2017.
Lo Greco told Khan: ”Then, you go out and tweet the heavyweight champion of the world. What is wrong with you, mate? You tweet that he can have your leftovers?” [This is in reference to a tweet sent by Khan to his wife regarding a rumoured affair between Makhdoom and current World Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua]
This comment sparked a furious reaction from Khan, who jumped from his seat and launched a glass of water over Lo Greco. The two men had to be restrained by promoter Eddie Hearn and security guards on the stage during a scuffle, but thankfully everything calmed down in time for the two men to conduct a faceoff at the end of proceedings. You can watch the heated outburst below.
😲 #KhanLoGrego Presser erupts after the Canadian launches a personal attack on Khan #BackToBusiness pic.twitter.com/MzaEaZVQtf
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) January 30, 2018
Khan made no secret of how Lo Greco’s insults made him feel, telling Sky Sports News: ”Sometimes it’s a press conference and it’s about boxing not about your personal life and I do think Lo Greco took it a little bit too far by saying one or two things I wasn’t happy about.”
”He’s gone too far and even on the roof, when we did the interviews and posed for pictures together, he just kept bugging me and trying to get in my head.”
Local representation on Saturday’s bill includes Sean Dodd facing Tommy Coyle in an exciting clash for the Commonwealth Lightweight title, 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Anthony Fowler looking to rack up the 6th win of his professional career and former World Amateur bronze medalist Natasha Jonas facing Taoussy L’Hadji
Whether or not Lo Greco’s attempt at mental warfare is having a significant effect on Khan will become more apparent throughout fight week and once the first bell rings. Can the Canadian back up all his talk to upset the odds in Liverpool and spoil the comeback party, or will it be a routine night at the office for Khan that will allow him to look towards huge world title showdowns with the likes of Keith Thurman and Errol Spence Jr. in the near future? Time will certainly tell. Tune in to Sky Sports Action from 7 pm on April 21st to find out.
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