Friday, March 29, 2024  |

News

Amir Khan to face unheralded Neeraj Goyat on July 12 in Jeddah

Fighters Network
31
May

Former unified junior welterweight titleholder Amir Khan will take on the undistinguished Neeraj Goyat at the King Abdullah Sports Center on July 12 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Khan, fresh off a sixth-round stoppage loss to WBO welterweight titleholder Terence Crawford last month, returns to action quickly, although the opponent is a novice by comparison.

Very popular, and marginally accomplished as an amateur in his native India, Goyat (11-3-2, 2 knockouts) has defeated no one of consequence since turning professional in 2011.

The 27-year-old has a brace of defeats to fighters who were making their professional debut, and the only statistic on his resume that jumps out is a four-round split decision loss to Xu Can in 2014.



Despite being a horrendous mismatch on paper, the fight is likely to do big business in Jeddah. Khan, a devout Muslim and philanthropist, is immensely popular in the middle east and fans will flock to see him live.

This will also be the first time that a British Pakistani has fought an Indian boxer. The 12-round bout will be contested at welterweight.

Jeddah was also the locale for the World Boxing Super Series 168-pound final between George Groves and Callum Smith last year.

 

Tom Gray is Associate Editor for Ring Magazine. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

 

READ THE MARCH ISSUE OF THE RING FOR FREE VIA THE NEW APP NOW. SUBSCRIBE NOW TO ACCESS MORE THAN 10 YEARS OF BACK ISSUES. 

SIGN UP TO GET RING NEWS ALERTS