Boxing Braces for the Wrath of Khan

This Thursday Amir Khan—an ethnic Pakistani boxer from Bolton, England—will turn 25. The next evening in Washington, he'll defend his WBA and IBF light-welterweight world titles against Lamont Peterson in a marquee fight on HBO.

It's fair to assume that Floyd Mayweather Jr., who is 34, and Manny Pacquiao, who turns 33 this month, will be watching. Wladimir Klitschko, who together with his brother Vitali has dominated the heavyweight class for years, might have to tune in from bed. The 35-year-old had to withdraw from a fight this week after succumbing to a kidney stone. What they'll see is a fighter who is enormously popular—and whose name continues to pop up in conversations about the next great boxing supernova. The guiding star for Khan, who is 26-1 with 18 knockouts is, as he puts it, "to become the first fighter from the U.K. to be pound-for-pound best in the world."

To much hype, Khan turned pro at age 19 after winning a silver medal for Britain in the 2004 Olympics. He strung together 18 lopsided victories before colliding with a crushing left hook from Columbian Breidis Prescott in 2008 and suffering a first-round knockout.

Resiliency is a requirement in professional boxing. Khan peeled his psyche off the canvas of that knockout loss and began working with Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao's trainer. During their time together, Khan has already impressed his Hall of Fame trainer. "Amir is the best listener I've ever had," Roach said.

Khan's punishing jab comes in a flash and he can unleash a swarm of stinging blows in a nanosecond. However, after the Prescott debacle, Khan concentrated on improving his defense, increasing his lateral movement and getting angles that make him difficult to hit.

The wins followed. In 2009, Khan won a technical decision over Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera. A few months later, he scored a unanimous decision over Andriy Kotelnyk to become the WBA world light-welterweight king. Two more former champions, Paul Malignaggi and Zab Judah, have also become notches on Khan's title belt.

Roach believes that a 2010 war with the heavy-handed Marcos Maidana was the Rubicon in Khan's ring career. "In the 10th round Amir really got rocked," Roach said. "I was ready to stop the bout if he didn't respond well to my questions. But he went out and won the 11th round and the fight. I was so proud of him. That showed me he really has heart and that he can keep his head when he is hurt."

Khan has sparred a good deal with his stablemate Pacquiao. "They respect each other a lot," Roach said. "Amir emulates Manny in many ways. For example, when Amir gets hit hard he will step back, kind of shake his head and tap his gloves together as if to say, 'let's go.' That's just what Manny does. Both of them are exciting offensive fighters who will put themselves in harm's way to land a punch."

This may be Khan's last fight at the 140-pound weight limit. "I think my best weight is going to be at 147," he said. "I walk around now at 150 and at 147 I won't have to kill myself to get down to weight." Of course, 147 pounds is the El Dorado division of Pacquiao and Mayweather.

Before Khan can scale the heights of the best of the best, he has to pass the formidable test that the 27-year–old Peterson (29-1-1, 15 knockouts) will pose Saturday.

Peterson, whose younger brother Anthony is also a contender in the lightweight division, is strong and can box. A former National Golden Gloves champion, Peterson's only defeat was a decision loss to welterweight champion Timothy Bradley. Also on Peterson's ledger is a draw to Victor Ortiz. In that melee, Peterson went down twice but bravely fought back and managed to prevent Ortiz from getting the nod.

Still, powerful as he is, Peterson only boasts a 48% knockout ratio. He is not the volume puncher that Khan is. Peterson tends to stand in the pocket and does not move his head much.

Many suspect that the Khan's boxing braintrust believes Peterson is an easy mark—otherwise they would not be willing to take him on in his hometown of Washington. The consensus is that Khan has more experience in elite fights and is simply too quick. Once a homeless young boy, Peterson has overcome odds before. Khan's fast hands and dazzling combinations do not trouble him. In a conference call with the media, he said, "The thing about me. I'm a timing fighter… Timing beats speed all day. So, it's nothing to worry about his speed.