LONDON, 8 April 2005 — Amir Khan’s dream rematch with the man who denied him gold at the Athens Olympics, Cuban great Mario Kindelan, will not now go ahead on April 30.
However, Cuban officials said they hoped the fight could take place later in the year. Cuban team chief Angel Iglesias Guerra said yesterday the date for the projected show in Khan’s home town of Bolton, north-west England - announced by British promoter Frank Warren last week - was “absolutely impossible”.
Kindelan is currently nearby in Liverpool where he is set to fight Britain’s Frankie Gavan on Friday as part of an international contest.
But Guerra said it would not be practical for Kindelan to return so soon to England. But he added the double Olympic champion wanted to box teenager Khan again and wanted to come back for a big show involving a number of other Cubans this summer.
Guerra said: “If Mario did get the chance to fight Amir Khan again it would be his chance to retire in style.
“We would hope it could happen in May or June as part of a more comprehensive bill involving other members of the team.”
Kindelan, who is also due to fight in Dublin next week before returning home beat Khan, 30-22 in last year’s Olympic lightweight final.
Khan, 18, has yet to confirm if the bout against the Cuban great will be his last before turning professional but Kindelan insisted the Briton could expect plenty of success if he decided against joining the ranks of paid fighters. “Amir Khan is a great boxer and I respect him a lot,” Kindelan said. “It is his decision about turning professional but if he stays on in an amateur capacity he will get a lot of glory.”
Warren said: “May would be the perfect month for us to do the fight and I have no problems with moving the date back. It is great to hear that Mario wants the fight because it is the biggest amateur fight out there and we will make it happen.”
