Amir Khan vs Julio Diaz

Amir Khan (27-3, 19 KO) is set for his first bout in his native United Kingdom since he scored a technical decision over Paul McCloskey in April 2011.

Former IBF lightweight champion Julio Diaz (40-7, 29 KO) will supply the opposition for King Khan. The man from Bolton has seen his meteoric rise thrown off course a bit since Dec. 2011.

Khan endured consecutive losses to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia, but now, with a bounce-back win over Carlos Molina in December under his belt, Khan seems ready to take the next step.

Diaz is not interested in the feel-good story, though.

He has seen his own in-ring hardships, and he wants badly to upset Khan in front of the fans at Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield, Yorkshire. Someone will leave the arena upset and questioning the next step in his career.

Who will it be?

The fight is taking place at a catchweight of 143 pounds (between light welterweight and welterweight) to allow the fighters to meet halfway. Because both men are almost the same height, it shouldn't be a major factor, but it is certainly worth noting.

American fans will have to wait to avoid spoilers on Twitter and other social media. The fight will take place early in the afternoon for those stateside.

But the replay will be broadcast in the states that evening after the Zab Judah-Danny Garcia championship bout on Showtime.

The video below is an interview Diaz conducted with ESNEWS on YouTube before the fight was announced. Diaz expressed an interest in coming down from welterweight to take on Khan.

He also called him "a scared fighter" who panics. He wanted the catchweight that the two camps agreed to and a chance to make his mark. Take a look at the conversation from Feb 2013.
In another interview with Leighton Ginn of My Desert, Diaz says, "Beating him, I’ll get enormous credit, and I’ll be back on top of the world. But I see him as not that big of a deal to be honest with you. That’s why I took the fight. Now we have to prove it."

There is a good measure of envy at work here. We’ll see if Diaz can channel that energy into a positive that leads to victory.
As part of Khan's plan to rise to the top of the sport, he is eyeing three major fights this year. Saturday's clash with Diaz is the first.

Khan told the BBC he's looking forward to the homecoming in the United Kingdom, but he acknowledges that this may be his last fight in his home country. Most of the mega fights he has set his sights on would have to take place in the United States.

Because of that, he really wants to put on a show Saturday night. Beyond the pressures of performing for possibly the last time for his hometown fans, a third loss in four fights would deal his career a significant blow.

As far as offense goes, there are few fighters in the sport who possess the tools Khan has. He has electric hand speed and plus power.

The issue with Khan has always been his chin and his reluctance to recognize that his heart is far better than his beard.

I’ve watched Khan get hurt by a punch on two occasions, but he has had too much pride to hold on to recuperate.
The speed difference is just too great in this fight. I believe Khan has learned his lesson about fighting defensively. If he gets tagged, he will hold until he can clear the cobwebs.

But I don't see this fight even coming to that. Khan will use his speed to make this an easy decision win.

He may not lose a round in this fight.
It happened against Marcos Rene Maidana in Dec. 2010 in a fight he ultimately won. It also happened in his upset loss to Garcia.