Khan: I’m a boxer ...get me in there
Amir ready for big comeback thanks to his Jungle pal Wise
AMIR KHAN’S ring return has been inspired in part by a Wise old head he met in the jungle.
Khan became pally with Dennis Wise, the former Chelsea and England hardman, during their stint on ITV’s ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here’ at the end of last year.
Khan returns to boxing action for the first time in two years on Saturday when he faces Canadian Phil Lo Greco in a welterweight contest at Liverpool’s Echo Arena.
And the Bolton fighter has revealed the part his new mate has played in convincing him to fight on.
Khan said: “Dennis is a former Premier League footballer who is a brilliant guy and sportsman.
“He gave me a lot of advice about how to be smart in the future – what to do and what not to do. So I want to thank Dennis for being there. As someone who has been there and done it, he gave me some good advice about how to come back from injuries.
“For example, I had the hand injury and he was telling me he had a big operation as well when he was in football.
“He retired when he was a lot older than I am now and he was saying, ‘Follow what your body feels. If your body is okay, keep going’.
“At the moment my body feels great, I’ve only had that one hand operation in my career. Other than that, I’ve had no other worries, I’ve always been fit and strong.”
The main concern about Khan, voiced by Ricky Hatton last week, is the punishment he suffered in knockouts against Breidis Prescott, Danny Garcia and, in his last fight, against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May 2016.
But Khan added: “Having that knockout against Canelo, it made me a serious fighter, a fighter who wants to make things better and finish on a high. “I’m 31, at the peak of my career, and I feel better than I did when I was 28.
“I don’t think those knockouts are going to be really bad. “I jumped back from being knocked out by Prescott to win a world title, I jumped back with good performances against Luis Collazo and Devon Alexander after getting beaten by Garcia.
“I have had my best performances after getting beaten.
“I go back to the drawing board and work on my skills and become a better fighter. I’d rather get knocked out by one punch by Canelo than take numerous punches.
“The shots I’ve taken when I’ve been knocked out, there haven’t been that many really.”
Khan insists his focus is only on boxing now and not on reality TV – although he wouldn’t totally rule out having a go at the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
Khan said: “The jungle was different. I needed to get away from everything and be isolated.
“Strictly might one day be something I will do but at the moment it isn’t.
“I’m not really a dancer. I can only dance when I’m in the ring.
“But look at Floyd Mayweather – if he can do it, I can maybe give it a go one day.” ■■Sky Sports Action will exclusively show Amir Khan v Phil Lo Greco live from 7pm this Saturday, April 21. AT 33, LeBron James is supposed to be slowing down and saving himself for when his team really needs him.
Try telling that to the Cleveland Cavaliers forward who has just finished a regular season where he played all 82 games for the first time in his 15-year career and played more minutes (3,025) than any player in the league this season.
As he prepares to begin his quest tonight for an eighth consecutive NBA Finals appearance, by taking on the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the play-offs (BT Sport 2, 8.30pm), James is as driven as ever.
And he has shut down all his social media to concentrate on the business end of the campaign.
He said: “You have to keep the main thing the main thing. In the postseason, you lose one game and it’s the end of the world. You win one game and everyone praises you. When the post-season happens, it’s one game at a time. That’s all that matters. The outside noise doesn’t matter.”
That outside noise will include the usual debate over whether James or Michael Jordan is the greatest player who ever took the floor in an NBA game. James’ team-mate, JR Smith, is in no doubt.
Smith said: “MJ was the greatest of all time, in my opinion, up until two years ago. “The last couple of years, at 33 years old, just hit 31,000 points the other day. Hit 30,000 points earlier this year. 8,000 rebounds? 8,000 assists? It’s insane.
“What more do we have to keep going whether it’s numbers, or just ability? At what point do we just say ‘when?’” FULTZ MARKELLE became the youngest 19 years player ever, at to record a and 317 days, Fultz had 13 triple-double. and 10 points, 10 rebounds assists against Milwaukee as made Philadelphia the play-offs THE NBA regular season ended on Wednesday and already the axe has been falling on head coaches. The NY Knicks and Orlando Magic fired Jeff Hornacek (right) and Frank Vogel respectively within hours and over the weekend, Charlotte Hornets dumped Steve Clifford.