St Clair's Small Stature Hides a Bigger Challenge for Khan

With almost military precision, Amir Khan has been inching closer to a world title and tonight at the ExCel London he aims to take another step on the way when he defends his Commonwealth lightweight title for the third time, against a vastly experienced and notably durable opponent in the 5ft4in Australian Gairy St Clair.

The promoter, Frank Warren, who has shaped the undefeated Khan's career thus far, is painstakingly moving his young prospect up through the rankings. Having previously guided fighters such as Ricky Hatton, Naseem Hamed and Nigel Benn to the top he is confident Khan will get a title shot by the end of the year.

"At this stage, Amir is still learning. But he is ahead of schedule. And St Clair will provide a tough test. He has never been stopped, and was a world champion [albeit at the lighter super-featherweight division] until just over a year ago," said Warren. "Some people have talked about St Clair not being very tall, but that doesn't matter. By that criteria, Mike Tyson would never have been heavyweight champion of the world. Fighting a small fighter presents plently of problems in itself."

Khan, who calls St Clair "the best I've fought so far", agrees: "It can present problems punching down, which is what I will have to do, and I will need to be careful not to damage my hands on the top of his head."

It seems certain that there will be no repeat of Khan's dismissal of his previous challenger, Luton's Graham Earl, who was blown away in just 72 seconds in December in a performance that prompted Warren to liken him to a young Sugar Ray Leonard.

Khan, now undefeated in 15 fights, was to have fought Martin Kristjansen only for the Dane to succumb to flu. But St Clair, who celebrates his 33rd birthday today, is a talented substitute who may prove to be a sterner test for Khan than Kristjansen would ever have been. At his best he can be a classy operator, as he showed by outpointing the rangy South African Cassius Baloyi to win the IBF super-featherweight title in July 2006.

"I've seen a few of Amir's fights, and he likes sticking out his chin," St Clair said. "I hope he does that against me because it would be the perfect birthday present. I'll clock him one so quick he'll be on the floor before he knows it. I'm planning on blowing out his candles inside a few rounds. For me, defeat isn't an option."

Not only is St Clair making the right noises outside the ring, he has made a shrewd move in employing Johnny Lewis, who guided his former sparring partner, Kostya Tszyu, to the world light-welterweight title, as his trainer. And St Clair warns: "Lewis is like a father to me and the best I've ever worked with. Weve been working on a few things. Khan won't know what's hit him."

Frank Warren admits he has had to move Khan up in class, or "turn things up a notch" as he puts it, after his destruction of Earl. St Clair can be expected to battle for the full distance, knowing his own career will stall with another defeat, but Khan's youth and strength should prove decisive. A stoppage win for Khan would be an outstanding performance. More likely is that he will have to come through a 12-rounder for the first time to win on points. All part of the learning process.