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Khan a bridge too far for McCloskey

Paul McCloskey, the European champion, steps up to world level against Amir Khan © PA Photos

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Amir Khan (24-1, 17 KOs) fights Paul McCloskey (22-0, 12 KOs) for the WBA light-welterweight title in Manchester on Saturday, and we've got the inside track on the clash…

Amir Khan's battle with Paul McCloskey was billed as a glorious homecoming - but it has descended into a nightmare for the WBA light-welterweight champion, who has seen the build-up to the bout overshadowed by a television dispute that has reportedly cost him £1 million.

The fight, which was due to be shown on Sky Box Office before the broadcaster pulled the plug, will now be aired on the humble Primetime channel, with Khan's advisors rejecting the chance to screen it on Sky Sports 3.

Although the Khan camp will surely feel aggrieved by Sky's pay-per-view snub, they won't be scorching any bridges, with some revered names on Khan's horizon - all of whom will demand a substantial audience. McCloskey comes first, then it's a unification fight with Timothy Bradley - and then, if he can become king of the light-welterweights, the target is Floyd Mayweather Jnr.

Khan has been particularly forthcoming about his plans for the future, leaving himself wide open to accusations of underestimating McCloskey. Predictably, he's denying it: "I can't take my eyes off the prize because I know he's going to come ready and he's going to come to win. We have to be more focused and more prepared for this fight because there's more for me to lose."

But there's an air of presumption about the way Khan has discussed Bradley and Mayweather, and that will only serve to motivate McCloskey, who will already have taken heart from Breidis Prescott, the unheralded Colombian who sent Khan's career hurtling into reverse by knocking him out after 54 seconds in 2008.

Freddie Roach began working with Khan post-Breidis Prescott, and the improvement has been drastic © Getty Images

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While Khan has improved considerably since then under the tutelage of Freddie Roach, particularly in terms of his defence, there will always be question marks over the durability of his chin. He proved a point to his critics against the iron-fisted Marcos Maidana in December, surviving a brutal tenth-round onslaught, but there were signs of clear distress - and the bout could easily have been stopped by a less lenient referee.

That said, it's hard to see McCloskey having the punching power to turn out Khan's lights. His KO record isn't great - 12 from 22 fights - and that's especially damning considering the opponents he has faced, all of whom have been short of world-title class.

There are similarities between McCloskey and Paulie Malignaggi, the feather-fisted American who Khan stopped in the 11th last year. There's plenty to suggest McCloskey will, like Malignaggi, be resilient - a tricky southpaw style, a granite chin, and the adrenaline rush of the big stage will work in his favour - but it's hard to imagine he'll conjure enough to place Khan in sustained peril.

And as obdurate as he will no doubt prove, particularly in the early rounds, Khan's hand speed and ring craft will surely overwhelm him eventually. It's been a long, gruelling road for McCloskey to get into the world-title picture, with six years as a professional under his belt, and he'll be aware that defeat sends him careering back towards anonymity - but he looks powerless to stop Khan overwhelming him.

He'll return to his hometown of Dungiven - and his day job as a supermarket manager - with head held high, but also the taste of defeat in his mouth.

Prediction
Khan to stop McCloskey in the seventh, having taken a few rounds to get to grips with his opponent's southpaw stance. That's at 10/1 with bet365.

The war of words
"Khan's not a big puncher … he ran like a mad man against Maidana."
McCloskey lands an early blow, one day after the fight was agreed

"He'll be coming into the fight unbeaten and he's a European champion, but he's not ready for this level, it's too big a step."
Khan roars back at his rival, who has been dogged by accusations of being out of his depth

"This whole thing has been a shambles from start to finish. It is commercial suicide. Sky is the most important television station in the UK when it comes to boxing, and in my opinion this has killed Khan's credibility here."
Eddie Hearn, McCloskey's promoter, slams the decision to accept Primetime's offer

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