Adams will rule world, says Khan

AMIR KHAN has backed his new stablemate Nicola Adams to follow up her two Olympic gold medals with a professional world title but warned her of the downside of moving to the USA.

Adams also won gold at the Worlds, Europeans and Commonwealth Games and to recreate such success in the paid ranks, she has based herself in California to prepare for her professional debut in Manchester on April 8.

Adams is training alongside Khan, who is expected back in the ring in April or May, under American coach Virgil Hunter.

‘She’s brilliant, it’s been good to have her here and train alongside her. She’s a great champion. I think she will definitely win with flying colours on April 8 and I think she will become Britain’s first-ever [female] professional world champion,’ said Khan, who nevertheless warned: ‘Coming here and leaving England, where she’s got a great fanbase, her family and friends is difficult.

‘To come over here and isolate herself to focus on boxing shows how serious she is taking this sport so I give her a lot of respect for that. I try to keep in touch with my fans as much as possible and I think Nicola needs to do the same.’ Tickets to Adams’s fight are available from eventim.co.uk and manchester-arena.com.

A TEENAGE amateur boxer died after collapsing in the ring on Friday. The youth, who has been named as Ed Bilbey, 17, from Ripley, near Derby, was treated at the venue in South Normanton but was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital in Mansfield.