Khan to face Vargas in September

Khan to face Vargas in September:

By Josh Wooler

It was announced on Thursday that Amir Khan will continue his UK comeback against Colombia’s Samuel Vargas in Birmingham on September 8th.

Khan’s last outing saw him blow away the lacklustre Phil Lo Greco inside a round back in April in what was his first contest since suffering a heavy knockout from Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May 2016. Notable names on Vargas’ record include current IBF Welterweight champion Errol Spence, who dished out a fourth-round stoppage defeat in 2015, and Danny Garcia, who has knocked out both Vargas and Khan.

On paper this looks to be another soft touch for Khan, which is understandable considering the amount of time he has spent out of the ring, however the Bolton man can’t afford to take anything for granted given his vulnerabilities that have seem him stopped on three occasions. King Khan will be hoping that Vargas lasts longer than Lo Greco and gives him the rounds he desperately needs before stepping up the calibre of his opposition.

This will be the second of Khan’s three contracted fights with promoter Eddie Hearn who indicated that he’d like to get Khan out in a box-office bout in December. Hearn will be hoping that Khan’s long-term domestic rival Kell Brook will be in the opposite corner that night but suggested that the fighter would prefer to box for another world title.

Both, Khan and Vargas are ranked with the WBA so Hearn could be eyeing up a showdown with the inactive Keith Thurman or the winner of Manny Pacquiao and Lucas Matthysse who will fight for the ‘regular’ title in July. It would be rather impressive if Hearn does get Khan out for a third time this year bearing in mind his only fight in the past two years didn’t last a round.

However, for now all the attention should be on Khan’s meeting with Vargas in September, where he finds himself the 1/20 favourite with SkyBet.

The undercard will feature local fighters Jason Welborn and Tommy Langford in a rematch for the British Middleweight title as well as Birmingham’s own Sam Eggington who continues his journey at Light-Middleweight.