Amir Khan and Chris Algieri didn’t see eye to eye Thursday. Instead, Khan was looking up at Algieri during their staredown at the fighters’ weigh-in.
Former 140-pound champions Amir Khan and Chris Algieri look in top shape for their 147-pound bout Friday night in Brooklyn, New York. (Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions)
“I have a good inch or two on him,” said Algieri, who is listed at 5-foot-10 to Khan’s 5-9. “I was looking through his eyeballs into his soul. I didn’t blink.”
Chris Algieri (20-1, 8 KOs) weighed a sculpted career-high 146.2 pounds to 146.4 for the equally chiseled Amir Khan (30-3, 19 KOs) in advance of their bout Friday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, which will be televised on Spike TV at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Algieri, 31, had his finest moment in the ring at Barclays Center when he upset Ruslan Provodnikov last June to win a 140-pound world title. The native of nearby Huntington, New York, now wants a repeat performance in his first fight at 147 pounds.
“I could see in his eyes he’s very confident,” said Khan, who is fighting in New York for the first time since he made his U.S. debut with an 11th-round technical knockout of Paulie Malignaggi in May 2010.
“I haven’t faced anyone like Algieri. He’s a little taller than me, very skillful and can be very tricky. If he runs, and it comes down to me putting pressure on him, I’ll be right there. I’ll be on my ‘A’ game.”
Khan, 28, last fought a taller opponent in September 2008, when 5-11 Breidis Prescott dropped him twice with left hooks and stopped him in 54 seconds.
“The left hook is one of my favorite punches with the jab and right hand,” Algieri said. “I like the pressure of fighting at home with that extra energy boost from having your people right there, so look out.”
Khan is fighting at 147 for the third time since making the jump from 140.
“This is Amir’s proper weight, no doubt,” said Khan’s trainer, Virgil Hunter. “He already uses power and speed, but at 147 he has more power in both hands that hasn’t become apparent to the boxing world.”
Both Javier Fortuna (27-0-1, 20 KOs) and Bryan Vasquez (34-1, 18 KOs) made weight for their 130-pound world championship bout that will also be shown on the Spike TV broadcast.
