Khan said he wants to fight Thaxton next:

Amir Khan: "After St Clair, Bring on Jon Thaxton"

By Mark Vester

Commonwealth lightweight champion Amir Khan (15-0, 12KOs) wants UK rival Jon Thaxton to keep one thing in mind - he's next on the hit list. Khan tells Setanta Sports that Thaxton is next after he disposes of Gary St Clair on February 2.

Khan and Thaxton were close to potential fight, but promoter Frank Warren claims Thaxton’s handlers turned down a career-high offer and countered with an even higher demand which caused the fight to fall apart.

“I’ve heard it all before. Most of my opponents have said they’re going to surprise me and that they’re going to beat me but John Thaxton’s just another guy who wants a big payday,” Khan said. ”I’m the best guy you can fight. I’m the biggest payday he could possible get in his whole boxing career and I’m going to give him the chance to get that payday. I’ll fight him. As soon as I beat St Clair, I’ll go back and fight Thaxton just to make things clear."

Khan knows that other opponents are out there, but he doesn't want people to say he avoided Thaxton by taking another fight. For the last few weeks, Thaxton has launched a media blitz by calling Khan out on a weekly basis in the press. The consistent trash talk has paid off.

”I never want to go on and have people later in my career saying, ‘there’s a guy that you didn’t fight – because you were scared’. I’m not scared of any opponent and I’m getting better all the time. In fact, the more I leave it the better I’ll be and the easier that fight against Thaxton will be. He is a good fighter but he’s on the way out,” Khan said.

Even if he wins, Khan knows most critics will not give him credit for beating Thaxton. But he wants to give the British boxing fans what they want by taking the fight.

“I’ll beat him, and whether I knock him out in the first round or the last round, people will say, ‘John Thaxton’s past it and he was only there for that payday’. But I’ll give him that chance just to let him see what he can do against Amir Khan. And I know that’ll be another good win for my career and it could be for the British title. We can put my Commonwealth title on the line, too, and it will be a good fight," Khan said.

“It’s a fight that the British people want to see. It’ll be a sell-out no matter what, because people want to see that fight. And I will beat him.”