• Amir Khan v Devon Alexander

Family not fame gives me fire in the belly, says Khan

Amir Khan will take on Devon Alexander for the WBC silver welterweight title in Las Vegas on Saturday © Getty Images

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Amir Khan says he is not fighting for fame or fortune but for the simple pleasure of making his infant daughter proud to call him her father.

Bolton-born Khan faces Devon Alexander under the bright lights of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday and will take to the ring wearing a pair of the most expensive shorts ever seen in sporting history - created from white nappa leather with 24-carat gold thread stitched into the waistband.

But while Khan will be topping the bill in the glitziest boxing venue of all, the Briton insists he is no longer interested in the world of celebrity - his family is what inspires him to fight his heart out.

"Being a father has changed me a lot," Khan told the Guardian. "Everything I do in sport now is to give my family a comfortable life, I want my daughter Lamaisah to grow up and say: 'My dad was a great champion.' That's the biggest motivation to have when your little girl goes to school and her friends say: 'Your dad was a great fighter.'

"I want to win this fight and I want to go on to bigger fights in the future. I'm doing it for my family. I'm a family man now. I am putting my body on the line. I am going to war.

"It's not just about me, or feeding Amir. It's about my whole family, looking after them. It's only given me strength in training camp. Knowing I have a little girl helps me get through tough times and tough training camps.

"Having a family is a motivation. It is driving me and pushing me to try harder. Everything I'm doing is for them. When you are on your own, that hunger may not be there."

Khan celebrated his 28th birthday on Monday but, with new coach Virgil Hunter running his training camp and a bout with Floyd Mayweather edging closer, he insists his days as a party animal are long gone.

"I am a fighter; I am going to war. My life is on the line so I can't enjoy myself eating cake. I have a big fight ahead of me. Once you're in camp Virgil says the whole focus has to be about the fight.

"Before that [Lamont] Peterson fight [Khan's second professional defeat in 2011] I had all my mates around, we were eating cake and talking about what was going on in Bolton. I lost my focus. That wouldn't happen now. I perform better when I am bored.

"I feel much better now than when I was 26. I feel stronger, healthier and fitter than I did at 26. I'm in better shape, I'm a better weight. I've changed a lot in my life because it's not easy to get as fit or strong at my age."

Khan's custom-made shorts for Saturday's fight are estimated to have cost between £20,000 and £30,000, and are sure to catch the eye of Mayweather on the pound-for-pound king's home turf.

But Khan insists he does not covet the celebrity lifestyle of the world's highest-earning sportsman, saying his aim is just to earn enough cash to be able to pay for his daughter to go to a top school.

"I'm not really a big spender or one of those guys who splashes money on things, like Mayweather," Khan added. "He needs to earn big to go with his lifestyle. I don't need to make billions in my career. I just want to make sure I have enough and I've made enough for her education."

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