Boxing: Khan joins Calzaghe in pro-am showcase

Amir Khan will fight on a Frank Warren bill next year in a unique pro-am show that will feature Joe Calzaghe, the WBO world super-middleweight champion, in the main event.

Amir Khan will fight on a Frank Warren bill next year in a unique pro-am show that will feature Joe Calzaghe, the WBO world super-middleweight champion, in the main event.

The fight will take place on 12 February at the MEN Arena in Manchester, which is close to Khan's home in Bolton, and will feature between two and four amateur contests. Both Warren and Khan will benefit from the temporary liaison because Khan will fight on a big show and Warren will be able to showcase the brilliant teenager's talent.

Khan, who turned 18 last week, has fought only once since winning the lightweight silver medal at the Olympics, in a fight televised by the BBC two weeks ago. That bout was in theory the first of seven that the BBC and the Amateur Boxing Association had agreed on.

When Khan fights in February, probably against a Frenchman, he will box over four three-minute rounds, as will the other amateurs on the night.

"If this is a way for amateur boxers to gain some recognition and some extra experience then it will benefit both the boxers and the sport in the long run,'' said Warren, who is thought to have been working on the deal since the day after Khan won his medal in August.

"The way the international amateur boxing system works puts all British boxers at a massive disadvantage. They have to travel all over the Eastern Bloc to qualify for the Olympics and perhaps if we can raise the profile of the sport we will get our own Olympic qualifier in time for Beijing.''

The ABA has been keen to work much more closely with the professional sport for several years and the official announcement yesterday that Khan will appear alongside Calzaghe is seen as a natural progression for the men who run the amateur sport.

"There are still people that believe we should have nothing to do with the pros but they are living in the past," said Keith Walters, an ABA director and one of the more forward-thinking officials. "The only way forward for the amateur sport in Britain is to sit down, listen and then work with the pros."

Khan said: ''I have been in the ring at the MEN when Ricky Hatton fought and it was brilliant. I can't wait to climb through the ropes and fight in front of the same amount of people.''