BOXER Tasif Khan is ready to the fly the flag for Bradford on international soil once again.
Lagos, Nigeria, is the destination for Khan this time, and he'll fly there next week with hopes of bringing the WBO international superflyweight title back to West Yorkshire following his bout with Gabriel Laryea on December 20.
Like he often does, Khan will be stepping into unfamiliar territory when he heads to Lagos, and not only that, his Ghanaian opponent will be on home turf in Africa but it's a challenge he's eager to embrace.
He said: "I've earned the stripes over the years in boxing, I've paid my dues to the sport and I'm still doing so. You learn a lot of things in boxing, one being that boxers like to fight in comfort and in their own surroundings, however, I'm not one of them.
"This fight against Gabriel was too big of an opportunity to turn down and it meant that it was time for me to step up to the plate. I've been asking for these opportunities for a while; to fight these champions and to fight in big title fights again, and yes, it's in his backyard, but I wasn't in a position to call the shots and make him fight in Bradford or on UK turf. It was take it or leave it, and I took it.
"I'm a fighting man and I will take every opportunity that is given to me. Going to his backyard doesn't scare me, it motivates me more to put on a show. The training camp has gone brilliantly and I've remained active as possible since my last fight in October, so I'm ready."
Khan's opponent, Laryea, 32, is seven years younger than the Bradford star and his record stands at 21-5-3, however, he is without a win in his last two professional bouts - last time drawing with Solomon Martey.
On the other hand, Khan has claimed victory in his last 13 outings and is heading into the winter fight with confidence and wins under his belt, but he admitted that form can't be considered too seriously when heading into their bout on December 20.
He said: "I wasn't overly impressed with my performance in my last fight, but I did get the win and I'm on a very good run, picking up lots of victories in the process. As for my opponent, I know he drew his last fight but I have been told that the decision perhaps should have gone his way, so I won't be looking too much into that.
"Come fight night, all form will go out of the window; it's about who's ready to perform under the lights and it's also about who wants it more. I know how important a victory would be for myself moving forward, and it would put me in a great spot in regards to the fights in my weight division."
Khan added: "Don't get me wrong, it's going to be tough challenge; I am in Gabriel's backyard, he's got a great record and he's got a great deal of ring experience.
"However, I won't be intimidated by that because I know what it would mean to be able to bring another title back to Bradford, and for that, I can't wait for fight night.
"Hopefully, I can do the city proud."
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