New Delhi: Gearing up for his maiden middleweight contest, British professional boxing star Amir Khan on Monday said that after the much-anticipated WBC title contest against Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez, he is keen to take on Vijender Singh in the Indian bigwig's own backyard.
Speaking to Indian media from San Francisco ahead of his fight against Alvarez, scheduled in Las Vegas on May 7, Khan said he had to move up from welterweight as he just could not find a suitable opponent.
The Olympic silver medallist and two-time world champion, will be up against an opponent who has been defeated just once by Floyd Mayweather in his 48-fight career, and would be defending his middle weight title for the first time since he won it last November.
"This is my first challenger fight and I am training very hard to take on Canelo Alvarez on May 7," said Amir when asked about his thoughts on the fight.
"I had to increase my weight category by two levels to fight for the middleweight title as there weren’t any boxers left to fight in my earlier category, and when Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao refused to fight with me the only choice left to me was to take on boxers at different levels," he added.
Amir, who recently announced his plans for boxing academies in India and Pakistan, said he is keen on fighting Vijender, who is undefeated since turning pro last year.
"Vijender Singh is the talent that India has in professional boxing and I would want to fight him in India soon," he said.
"I am a big fan of Mary Kom and Vijender Singh. They are what they are because they had the opportunities. The same is most of us and that’s why I want to create these academies so that the facilities reach to all corners of India. I hope to create world-class boxers and MMA fighters in the next 2-3 years from India," he added.
Amir, who also co-owns the Indian Mixed Martial Art company, Super Fight League along with his Indian partner Bill Dosanjh, plans to visit India soon to promote his brother, Haroon Khan’s professional fight.