Amir Khan wants to face Vijender Singh in the near future

Amir Khan hopes to promote boxing in Asian countries

Impressed by the hard working boxers of Inida, a country which he loves, British boxer Amir Khan wants to help grow the sport in the country and does not rule out a chance to fight Vijender Singh at some point in his career.

Khan seems quite impressed with Vijender Singh, who won India's first Olympic and World Championship medals, before turning professional.

Vijender marked his professional debut by knocking out Britain’s Sonny Whiting in Manchester last month, by mercilessly destroying the opponent, who wanted to take Vijender on a journey through hell at the Manchester Arena.

He said, “Vijender is doing really good. He has won his professional debut. He has tackled the tarnsition period of becoming a professional from an amateur really well, which is not easy. He is fighting again next month. He has a bright future. Having more people like Vijender in boxing, will help the sport grow in the country”.

"Vijender's act will promote pro boxing in India. Because most of these amateur boxers are not familiar with pro boxing, so Vijender's foray will open the doors for them further. He has won one fight and he has the next one coming up. So yes, I really think he's going to promote it well and he will go a long, long way. In the next five years, I can see a big change in boxing in India. There will be a lot of boxing shows in India. We are happy to do boxing shows in India. There's lot of raw talent," he said.

He did not rule out the chance to fight Vijender in future and said that “it will be good fight”, when asked about the same.

"It will be a good fight if it happens. His first couple of years are going to be quite easy. I think by the time I probably call it a day, that's when Vijender will probably come up to the level I am now. You don’t expect things. I wish him all the best. He is a good fighter. I will be always behind him if he needs any advice or help. I know he trains in England. My doors are always open for him," he said.

Khan wants a date with Many Paccquiao in the boxing ring in the Filipino legend’s final fight next year, as his much awaited contest with Floyd Mayweather did not take place this year.

"Hopefully yes. But I have left it to the team. Let the team make it happen. I want the fight. I think Manny is a great fighter; he is a legend in the game. You always want to fight the best in the world. So I think it will be an amazing fight. There's a lot of history there as I and Manny are very good friends," he said.

Amir Khan, the boxer of Pakistan origin, first gained public recognition at the age of seventeen, when he bagged the silver medal in the lightweight category, in the 2004 Olympics.

Khan took the risk of turning professional, leaving a rampant amateur career behind, a year later. Doing justice to his confidence, he did not take time to breakthrough as a professional winning the WBA light Welterweight title at the age of 22 after winning the historic battle against Andreas Kotelnik which changed his life.

The Bolton based boxer now holds an impressive professional record of 34-3, with titles across three weight divisions and is also one of the the highest paid fighter in the world.

Fascinated by the determination of the enthusiastic Indian boxers, Khan showed interest in tackling the abundant talent present in the country which is not getting the amount of backing and support they deserve.

I want to go to India soon: Amir Khan

“I have been waiting to come to India, as it is a beautiful place. My parents came here in 2010 for the Commonwealth Games and my brother (Haroon) boxed here in Delhi. This is my first time and i loved this amazing place. The people are nice here, very hospitable. It’s a lovely place. I did not expect it to be this nice. I will definitely be back. I will be returning to India definitely. I came here with my family and my wife has been here before. It's just brilliant,” Khan told IBNLive.com.

The two time former world champion has a plan of starting a few academies in the country, as he said while in Delhi to attend a friend’s wedding.

"I am here for a friend's wedding but obviously I have many plans. I have my own Amir Khan foundation. I want to do something over here for the needy, for the people who need help. May be go to the villages, may be built something for them. Also my own boxing academy promotion. Next year hopefully we will build gyms. We are in talks at the moment, nothing has been confirmed as of yet. It’s all about giving India a chance.

"Indian boxers need more support. They need more people to follow them, support them. With support you become a better fighter. Indian people need to get behind their boxers. The talent is here, you have Mary Kom, Vijender, but they need support. They are not getting that support as much as it's needed," he added.

Khan believes professional boxing, which is still in its early stages in this part of the world, will grow fast.

"I think it will grow and grow fast in Asia, especially with so much talent. There's a lot of good talent in India and Pakistan as well. I am doing the same thing in Pakistan. The thing is they do not have the gyms and facilities for boxers to turn professional. What we are doing to give them a platform. So what we want to do is promote fighting sports in this part of the world. We want to manage and promote professional boxing.

"We need to do that transition period from amateur boxing to pro boxing. In India, what we don’t have is a real professional platform. So, have an Amir Khan Academy, have the best trainers, and give them a chance," he added.