GAVIN WANTS KHAN OR MAIDANA NEXT YEAR

Welterweight ace Frankie Gavin says the two fighters in his targets in 2014 are rival Amir Khan and new WBA World Champion Marcos Maidana.

The Birmingham star defends his Commonwealth title against hard Ghanaian Joseph Lamptey this Saturday (21 December) at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 546), and a victory will put him in a strong position next year.

The undefeated 28-year-old – still Britain’s only ever world amateur champion – has had a sensational year winning all three fights and is now ranked inside the top ten for three of the major governing bodies.

Although Khan is looking likely to take a big fight against Floyd Mayweather Jnr., Gavin says if that doesn’t come off then a natural domestic blockbuster would be against him.

And with Maidana’s sensational upset over undefeated pound-for-pound contender Adrien Broner, Gavin is confident he could cause another big shock by defeating the dynamite-punching Argentinean.

“I’m 28 and now approaching my prime.  I’m knocking on the door of the likes of Khan and Maidana and I hope that I can get one of them in the ring next year,”

“Khan’s a great fighter, he’s done well to keep bouncing back from defeats and he’s still an A-list name.  I’d love to test myself against him, I know I could step up to the challenge and beat him.  If he’s gets the fight against Mayweather then good luck to him, I’d like to see a British fighter beat Mayweather, but it’s one hell of an ask as I don’t believe anyone can beat Mayweather.  If it doesn’t happen then what a great fight it would be between me and Khan for the fans over here?

“Maidana got his tactics spot on to inflict the first loss to Broner’s record and take his WBA World title.  I thought that it would be an exciting fight as it proved to be.  Again, I’d love a shot at Maidana, I just think the way he fights so aggressively coming forward would be perfectly suited to my counter-punching style.”

Another option next year could see Gavin challenge for the European crown held by Italian Leonard Bundu who defeated Lee Purdy in London on Saturday night.

“I take my hat off to Purdy, he gave it his all and to be stopped in the final round must be heartbreaking.  He gave it a good shot but ultimately came unstuck at the very end.  To fight for the European crown would be the next step seeing as I’ve got the British and Commonwealth belts and it would be nice to have all three before stepping up to a world title,”

“My promoter Frank Warren has handled my career superbly so I’ll leave whoever I fight next up to him, Bundu for the European title would be great, but if a bigger and better opportunity like a world title came up I’d obviously go for that,”

“I’m just excited with the future and next year is set to be a big breakthrough year for me.  Lamptey is a potential banana skin though and I’ve got to beat him on Saturday night to stay on course for next year.”

Remaining tickets are available from the First Direct Arena on 0844 248 1585 orwww.firstdirectarena.com 

Gavin’s Commonwealth Welterweight title defence against Lamptey is live and exclusive on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 437/Virgin Ch. 547), headlining the card is Stuart Hall’s challenge for the Vacant IBF World Bantamweight title against Vusi Malinga, plus an action packed undercard.  Join now at www.boxnation.com