Thaxton Aims to Put Khan Down

Jon Thaxton, the British lightweight champion, has warned Amir Khan that he would knock him out inside five rounds. Thaxton branded Khan disrespectful after the Commonwealth champion said earlier this week that he wanted to face his rival next year to hand him a boxing lesson.

Thaxton, 33, who defends his title tonight at York Hall in London against Scotland's Dave Stewart, said: "I want the fight against Amir to happen, but I don't know if he really wants it. All that he has said this week is bravado. My promoter, Mick Hennessy, tried to get the fight to happen, but they didn't want to know. So for him to come out now and say he wants it and will beat me easily is a disgrace.

"It was on a plate for him. He didn't have an opponent for his fight this weekend and we offered that I would fight on his promoter's show for nothing [Frank Warren stages Khan's title defense against Stoke's Scott Lawton tomorrow in Nottingham]. We took the politics out of it but all of a sudden he went quiet. Now he has got a schedule, he has gone brave again.

"I'm the best in Britain and I have got the belt to prove that. He should show a little more respect. He said I am a five-round fighter, which is a joke. We will soon find out if that is the case - if he is allowed to actually fight me. It will only take me five rounds to take him out."

Warren, though, has played down the verbal sparring. "He is still only 20 and has only had 13 fights. Amir is learning. There is nothing wrong with ambition, and I would be disappointed if he didn't think he could win the title, but he is not yet the finished article. He needs to continue on the learning curve, starting with Scott Lawton who is strong, experienced and fancies he can beat Amir."