Haroon Khan, aka Harry Khan makes his professional boxing debut tonight against Brett Fideo (1-2 1KO) at the Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire, United Kingdom. It’s not often a 0-0 boxer carries high expectations, but when your big brother is none other then former unified light welterweight champion Amir Khan there is bound to be extra pressure. On the 189th edition of “On The Ropes” I had a chance to speak with Harry and get his thoughts about the start of his pro boxing career. Harry touched on how he found his way into the sport and discussed the challenge of having to step out of his brothers shadow and create his own path in boxing. Additionally he talked about his brothers upcoming fight and what things he can learn from Amir’s career that he can use going forward in his own. Here is what Haroon Khan had to say.
Jenna J: How are you?
Haroon Khan: I’m good, just looking forward to my pro debut which is happening on Saturday evening.
Jenna: You just mentioned it there; you are making your pro debut. As many people know, you are the brother of Amir Khan. How do you feel about finally stepping into the pro ring?
Khan: I think it’s nigh time to have come around. I’ve spent 13 years in the amateur game, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of my amateur career and I think it’s time to move up a level and fight in the professional game.
Jenna: What do you think will have to be the biggest adjustment to make from turning from amateur to professional?
Khan: I think having a larger crowd, and fighting with no head guard, and no vest . So it’s going to be a big difference from the amateur game, but I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been training at a professional boxing gym in Manchester for almost 3-4 months and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it. I just can’t wait to get in the ring now.
Jenna: Haroon, obviously you have a lot of expectations on you because of who your brother is, how do you take that into the ring and use it to your advantage, knowing a lot of people will be watching you?
Khan: It’s going to be more pressure than advantage to be honest, just because we all know what Amir (Khan) is capable of, and they all might expect the same. I’m sure the talent is there to become what Amir has achieved. Even if I achieve half of what Amir has achieved, I’ll be happy, but I’m sure that I can go all the way and be a world champion.
Jenna: You’re making your debut at 21, Amir actually made his debut a little earlier. Do you think your extra time in the amateurs is going to help you?
Khan: It’s going to be a big help, now that I can say I’m fully mature. I’ve grown up, I’m strong and I’m a man now, when I was in the amateurs, I was a kid. I was making mistake after mistake. This is the time to use all the mistakes I’ve made, and adjust it all and show what I’ve got in the professional game.
Jenna: For all the fans that are hearing you for the first time, can you tell them a little bit about how you got into the sport of boxing?
Khan: I was into soccer at the age of 6/7, and when I was 8, my club got shut down. While I was going around looking for a new club, I used to go to the gym just to watch Amir train. While I was there, I used to put on the gloves and punch the boxing bags, just have a knock about in the gym, and since then I enjoyed the sport. I thought to myself, this is the career I’m going to take in the long run.
Jenna: What point did you come to that decision that “this is my career”? How long do you have to to box to say “this is what I want to do for the rest of my life”?
Khan: I was training at the gym for around 3 years, and then the amateur coach said “Look, you’ve got good ability to become a boxer”, and that encouraged me even more, I thought if Amir’s boxing coach is saying that to me, there must be something there. I did take it on, and my amateur career has been successful.
Jenna: Who do you see winning in the fight between two of Amir’s previous opponents, Danny Garcia and Zab Judah?
Khan: It’s going to be a good fight, Amir has fought both of them. We all know that Danny Garcia struggles with speed, which Zab Judah has got. It’s going to be a big fight, and a tough fight for both Danny Garcia and Zab Judah. I think if Judah can put on the pressure on Garcia, then I don’t think Garcia will have a chance. All Judah has to keep aware of is Garcia’s left hook.
Jenna: I want to talk about fighting brothers. Brothers who have gone on to win championships, and rule as champions while both are still active Marquez (Rafael/Juan Manuel), Klitschko (Vitali/Wladimir). Do you think if you can attain a championship, and your brother can attain a championship, will you do it at the same time?
Khan: Yeah, definitely. That’s my dream, that both of us brothers – it doesn’t have to be in the same weight category, but I’m sure at one point of our careers, we’ll both be world champions
Jenna: Alright, let’s talk about prediction time! What do you predict for your debut, this coming Saturday night?
Khan: I’m going to predict a win. I’m going to walk out of that ring with my hand up. I won’t say how, if you go looking for a knock out, the knock out will never come. If you stick to the game plan, the knock out will come. I’ve trained so hard, that I can’t see this fight going the distance.
Jenna: As you’re fighting for the first time, and for the fans that may not get a chance to watch this, can you describe your fighting style?
Khan: I’m different from Amir, Amir is more of a boxer, he’s got fast hands, he’s more slick. Whereas myself, I like to get into a fight now and again, I’m more of a power puncher, I like to get inside to the body. I’m more flat footed. The good thing about me is, I can adapt my style, if the opponent wants to trade fight, I can trade punches, if he wants to move around, I can move around.
Jenna: Amir Khan, he’s had some losses, he’s been knocked out in certain fights. When you look at his defeats, what can you learn from them?
Khan: We’ve learnt a lot, we’ve all sat down as a team and really tried not to make the same mistakes. He got knocked out in the Prescott fight, he went on and became a world champion, he got defeated against Peterson, which we all thought that Amir won that fight. Then the Garcia knockout. Since then when Amir fought Carlos Molina, he has a new trainer, Virgil Hunter, he was a different fighter that night. I think we’re not going to make the same mistakes, he goes out there trying to prove a point. You don’t have to prove a point, if you get caught clean, you lift yourself up saying ‘You got caught, and you’re not going to make the same mistake again’. There’s no point of trading punches.
Jenna: One final question, you got a lot of fans out there, seeing you for the first time. Any message you want to pass on to them?
Khan: Keep an eye out, it’s my time to shine. You’re going to see another Khan on the block, and hopefully there will be two Khan’s as champions in their career!
*Special thanks goes out to Jay of Checkhookboxing.com for his help to bring this interview to boxing readers*
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Haroon Khan is not even the Leon Spinks of this family. I wish him well though