HIGH STAKES

Khan insists that the littleknown Vargas is a threat

SAMUEL VARGAS has told Boxing News how he intends to defeat Amir Khan on September 8 at the Arena Birmingham.

“I feel like I have to adjust, the first couple of rounds, to his speed. I have to get in his face, be on his chest. I have to make him feel like I’m the man in the ring,” said the Colombian-canadian.

Nor does Vargas think Khan managed to shake off any ring rust against Phil Lo Greco in his most recent outing: “What’s there to be impressed about? Who was he fighting? 39 seconds of what? He could have broke more of a sweat hitting the bag. I don’t count his last fight as getting the ring rust [off]. I don’t think he got hit at all.

“I feel like this is my time,” he continued. “It depends which Amir Khan shows up. But either way I’m going to show up. I’m going to be there and I’m going to do my job.”

Khan, still hoping to snare a showdown with Manny Pacquiao in the future, agrees that the stakes are high. He can’t afford to lose.

“Every fighter is a threat,” the Bolton man told BN. “I’m not lying. When Breidis Prescott came to the UK he was nowhere near a threat to me. He knocked me out in the first round. Anything can happen.

“He [Vargas] seems confident. Look, he’s lost three fights in his career, winning 29. So you have to show a little bit of respect. He’s been in with the big opposition. I’ll be giving him a full training camp for this fight. We’re giving him a 10-week camp. So I’m sure he’s going to be more than ready.”