By GAVIN GLICKSMAN, The Sun
WHEN it comes to the world of boxing, Frank Warren has pretty much been seen it all.
There have been amazing highs for Britain's leading promoter, coupled with plenty of lows.
The taxman, a masked gunman and even fighters he represented have tried to KO him over the years.
But Warren is still here, fighting the corner for British boxing and doing all he can to make stars of his current crop.
Amir Khan's recent departure came as a stinging body blow, yet the show must go on.
And on February 13 it will do exactly that, when London's Wembley Arena and Warren stage the biggest card of the year so far on domestic soil.
SunSport caught up with the 57-year-old to get his thoughts on the Night of the Champions, Khan's move to America and what the future holds for the sweet science.
How is the Night of the Champions card shaping up?
We've got three title fights on, two of our Olympians, the Walsh brothers (Liam, Michael and Ryan) and George Carmen will be making his debut. It's going to be a good night and I'm really looking forward to it.
Will Danny Williams definitely defend his British title against Derek Chisora?
He's fighting! He's confirmed he'll fight so I'm delighted with that.
Has your man Del Boy got the tools to beat Williams?
It's a tough fight for Chisora. He's only had 11 fights and it's a big step up for him. But if he's as good as he says he is — and as good as we think he is — then it's a fight he should look good in.
Williams has said this will be his last fight. Should he have already called it a day?
I think he should have hung his gloves up a couple of years ago, but he chose not to. He's an old campaigner and keeps coming on and upsetting the odds at times. You write him off but he always seems to keep coming back.
He's had a good innings. He's fought for the world title, has got Mike Tyson's scalp on his record and has made some good money, so hopefully this will be his last fight — win, lose or draw.
Now that Khan has left, who do you see stepping up to fill his place as your stable's No1 fighter?
There's Nathan Cleverly, Kell Brook, Paul Smith, Kevin Mitchell — I have a few kids who are on the cusp of getting title fights.
Don't forget that just five fights ago Khan was sprawled out on the canvas against Breidis Prescott and we brought him back. Mitchell beat Prescott in his last fight and, provided he wins on February 13, he'll fight for a world title next. He's older than Khan and is ready to go, so I've got a lot of faith in him.
When Mitchell fought on the undercard of Khan's WBA title defence against Dmitriy Salita, there was talk of the two Brits squaring off. Is that a fight you'd like to make in the future?
I'd definitely like it! Mitchell's a weight below Khan at the moment but I think he could step up — or we could make a catchweight fight.
Speaking of Khan, now that he's joined Golden Boy, what's next for him?
At the minute he's got a mandatory defence against Marcos Maidana, although whether or not they're going to take the fight is anybody's guess. It definitely doesn't seem like they're keen on it happening!
How will you feel if he ends up vacating the WBA title to dodge Maidana?
I'll be a little annoyed if I'm honest. If he's going to drop it, he should have done it against Salita because that was a fight nobody thought would be hard for him. Maidana will be a much tougher proposition than Sailta, so it will look like he's running.
Do you think the one-round demolition of Salita has gone to Khan's head?
No, I don't think it's anything like that. It just seems to be the people around him saying they don't want Maidana. Freddie Roach pretty much said Maidana doesn't mean anything and he needs to build himself up. But I find that quite a strange quote as Amir's never been shown on American TV.
Maidana, on the other hand, knocked out Golden Boy's Victor Ortiz on HBO! As a result, everybody knows him, so it's such a strange comment to make. The big fights are there for Khan, it just depends what direction he goes down.
It's a bit galling when you hear people saying the only way he's going to get the big fights is by going with Golden Boy. That's a bit insulting, just like when people say that Naseem Hamed had to leave me to go to America.
It's just garbage. I took Hamed to America and I promoted a show at Madison Square Garden before taking him to Atlantic City. I was the one who walked away when the contract came to an end, not him.
I've done lots of fights over there and I would have had no problem taking Khan to the States. It was in my plans and we even talked about it live on TV after the Salita fight.
Maidana fighting Amir in America means nothing, at least as far as the gate's concerned. Over there it's just an Argentinian fighting a Brit, whereas here it would sell. Not only that, I'd already spoken to HBO and they were willing to broadcast the fight. I'd also agreed terms with Tim Bradley for a fight to take place over here and Showtime were going to show it in the States, so he had choices already.
I took Ricky Hatton to America and I also tried to do the same with Joe Calzaghe, but he wouldn't get on a plane. So it's a complete nonsense to say Amir had no option but to leave. People are just trying to distort the truth. The fact of the matter is they'd made up their minds even before the Salita fight.
I know that now because I've spoken to people and that's what I've found out. I'm just disappointed because he has still not picked the phone up to me.
So you've not even had as much as a text message from him?
No, I've not had a text, there's been nothing. I find that strange and really sad because I haven't had an argument with him. The last time I saw Amir we were mates and everything was fine.
It is sad but that's how life is and we all move on. He'll go on to do his thing and I'll do mine, which is bringing British fighters through and hopefully turning them into stars — both here and in America! All I know is I'm pretty good at what I do and I deliver.
You've already said 2010 will be a big year for British boxing. But is the future as bright on a global level, especially with the rise in popularity of mixed martial arts?
I don't think boxing is dying, like some people have suggested, far from it. Nobody thought Floyd Mayweather v Juan Manuel Marquez was a match as Mayweather was the overwhelming favourite, but it went directly against UFC. Mayweather got a million pay-per-view buys while it was reported the UFC got less than 200,000.
You'd think UFC was going on every week, but it's not. In the meantime, we promote lots of shows, we're getting more bums on seats at live events than ever and every national newspaper has got a boxing column, so I think it's really on a high.
All we need now is a bit more TV coverage. ITV have dropped out but hopefully we can get them back in. I also think it's a national disgrace the BBC don't step up to the plate. They seem to be more concerned with putting boxing on the radio so you can hear it but can't watch it.
Is the Beeb's reluctance down to the disastrous deal they signed with Audley Harrison?
Absolutely, it ruined it. But boxing should not be blamed for somebody doing a a c**p deal. They essentially said you can fight who you like, there's no quality control and not only that your four-round fights are going to be main event.
When Amir turned pro, he had four-rounders — but they were on the undercard of title fights. I find it really galling that the BBC tried to wriggle out of the sport by using the Harrison deal as an excuse. Hopefully, after the next election, the new Minister for Sport will jump in there and kick some a***.
Just finally, you've got high hopes for Cleverly, who faces Antonio Brancalion for the vacant European light-heavyweight title on February 13. How far do you think he can go?
I think Nathan can go all the way. He's 18 and 0, he's balancing his career with his studies — which finish in May — and hopefully he'll get his degree. Provided he beats Brancalion, we can then really step things up and get him ready for world title fights.
The Night of the Champions takes place at Wembley Arena on February 13. For more information visit frankwarren.tv or call 0871 220 0260/0844 815 0815 for tickets.
Source: thesun.co.uk
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