Junior "The Hitter" Witter Angling for Khan

Junior Witter is now in the USA preparing to win back the green belt of the WBC at 140-pounds.

Junior "The Hitter" Witter left England for the United States last Friday ahead of his big challenge this weekend against Devon Alexander for the vacant WBC super lightweight title. But before he left, Witter dropped a few verbal bombs on fellow
Brits Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton.

Witter, Khan and Hatton all compete in the super lightweight division. Yet try as he might, Witter, the former WBC 140-pound titlist, has never been able to coax Hatton into a ring with him. However, he is hopeful that a fight against Amir Khan could be a possibility and he claims it is a fight that has almost – and likely will – take place.

"I actually think that a fight with Khan is probably going to happen," said Witter, 35, who will bring a record of 37-2-2, 22 KOs into the ring against Alexander. "When the fight against Kotelnik looked like it wasn't going to happen, before it got pushed back to a different date, his people actually approached me about fighting him. The only reason it didn't happen was because of the timing of everything. I had this fight with Alexander already lined up and I didn't have the time to train. I just couldn't fit it in."

Witter said he had the chance to view a portion of Khan's WBA title fight against Kotelnik and what he did see of it impressed him. "He stuck to his game plan which was the one thing I didn't think he would do," said Witter. "He did quite well and he did what he had to do. I thought he would start quickly and then eventually get caught, which of course didn't happen. But I also don't think that Kotelnik performed up to his best."

When asked what he figured would happen should the fight with Khan ever come to fruition, Witter did not hesitate for a second with his answer.

"I'd knock him out in three rounds. I'd cut him down. I'd step across him," said a very confident Witter. "Everybody knows the Prescott fight was a one off. Just because he was caught like that [against Prescott] doesn't mean that I'd catch him like that. I wouldn't try to do it faster than Prescott did, but I would expect to do it within three rounds."

For years, Witter chased fellow Brit Ricky Hatton in an effort to goad him into a fight. But Hatton always sidestepped his verbal advances and when Witter lost his WBC title in a split-decision to Timothy Bradley last year the chance for the Hatton fight seemed to go out the window for good. Witter realizes as much.

"I've washed my hands of a fight with Ricky Hatton," he says. "Realistically, he's not going to fight me. Now the Khan fight, I think that's going to happen. But the fight I really want is the Bradley fight. But I'd fight them all – Bradley, Campbell, Khan, Hatton. "

WBO titlist Bradley is fighting Nate Campbell on the same card as Witter's fight against Alexander. Both 140-pound title fights will be televised in the U.S. on Showtime Championship Boxing from the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, California.


July 2009