• Boxing

Team Khan take a swipe at Sky

ESPN staff
April 11, 2011
Amir Khan made the third defence of his WBA light-welterweight title against Marcos Maidana in December © Getty Images
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Amir Khan insists his preparations for Saturday's Paul McCloskey fight have not been disrupted by the wrangle over television rights.

The WBA light-welterweight title bout will be shown on pay-per-view channel Primetime after Khan's team rejected an offer to air it on Sky Sports 3. It was initially due to be shown on Sky Box Office, but the broadcaster pulled the plug due to concerns over the quality of the undercard.

"There was not one day where I thought the fight would be off," Khan said. "I've been training hard for the fight. They (his advisers) kept me out of the way. My preparations have not been affected at all. I've always been in the limelight from day one and you always get ups and downs."

On announcing the deal with Primetime, who have shown Carl Froch's recent bouts, Khan's business manager Asif Vali could not resist a thinly-veiled swipe at Sky.

"We are delighted to have agreed to a deal with Primetime," he said. "Amir is a pay-per-view fighter and has proved over the last 12 months the level at which he is now by beating some of the very best in his division."

If he gets past McCloskey, Khan will be keen not to burn any bridges as he aims to maximise the audience for his next bout, which is likely to be a unification battle against Timothy Bradley.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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