By Barry McGuigan, Mirror.co.uk
Amir Khan makes his American debut at Madison Square Garden on May 15, a proud moment for all associated with him.
It is a great opportunity and also a huge challenge. Khan is fighting Paulie Malignaggi, a native New Yorker.
Khan is the marquee name yet he is fighting in his opponent's back yard. Usually it is the other way around.
This is the difficulty in which he finds himself having committed at an early stage in his career to an American promoter, Golden Boy.
For his HBO paymasters, Khan is the big story in this fight, the selling point, the man.
For the punters buying tickets on the ground he is the away fighter. The strategy is therefore not without risk.
I applaud the idea of Khan (right) basing himself in the States at some point. But is this the right time? Despite being a world champion, Khan is a developing fighter. He has improved a lot since his defeat to Breidis Prescott, but there is still ground to cover.
In giving up home advantage, he has forfeited a degree of control he would have otherwise had and that can be important at this stage in his education.
It can be done, of course. It was the route taken by Manny Pacquiao, who built his reputation in Las Vegas not the Philippines.
It was the defeat to Prescott that ultimately started the ball rolling for Khan, since it led to the link-up with coach Freddie Roach at the Wild Card in Los Angeles.
That was absolutely the right move. Once there, the immersion in the West Coast boxing culture was always going to be influential.
Being around and even sparring with Pacquaio would have opened Khan's eyes to any number of possibilities.
You can see then how the idea of crossing the Atlantic quickly took hold. The fastest way to grow into a global figure is to build a brand in America, no doubt.
Again, the issue is the timing. When Ricky Hatton bowled into Vegas he had already made his name. He took an amazing 20,000 fans with him. Joe Calzaghe did not attract the same support when he made his debut there.
But he could draw on the experience of a decade as world champion. Khan has neither the fan base nor the experience, which makes the job harder.
What he does have is the X-factor. Khan is an amazing talent, one in which HBO have obviously invested heavily.
If he wins impressively against Malignaggi - who is several cuts above his last opponent Dimitri Salita - Khan is a step nearer to naming his own price.
Bolton-born Khan is a fantastic and important story for British boxing, a great kid who deserves to succeed.
Sport is all about timing. God willing, he has got his right.
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Source: mirror.co.uk
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