MMA fighter Amir vows to show his killer instinct against Lee
Singaporean mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Amir Khan's six-bout winning streak ended after he lost to Russia's Timofey Nastyukhin by unanimous decision at February's ONE Championship: Quest for Gold fight card in Myanmar.
But the defeat has only made the lightweight fighter more determined to go for the kill.
Amir revealed that the loss wasn't a case of lacking technical skills, unlike his previous two defeats. It was the result of a passive mental approach.
While it was a bitter pill to swallow, the 23-year-old is looking beyond it and raring to go for tomorrow's bout against South Korea's Lee Sung Jong at the ONE Championship: Unstoppable Dreams event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
He said: "Dealing with a loss is always hard. I made some mistakes and I've already moved on. The real Amir Khan was not there because I was always just waiting for the right moment.
"Now I don't really wait for the right moment. I create opportunities. For this fight, my game plan is to just go out there, be confident of my ability and throw high-volume strikes when he doesn't expect it."
Amir was speaking yesterday at the announcement of ONE Championship as the official fitness partner for Singapore Exchange's (SGX) Bull Charge, the bourse's flagship charity initiative, at SGX Centre on Shenton Way.
As part of the partnership, underprivileged youths from six of SGX Bull Charge's adopted beneficiaries will get mentorship from ONE Championship's athletes, as demonstrated by Amir and Christian Lee in a workshop yesterday.
Amir believes that a shot at the world title is still within reach and hopes to prove it at tomorrow's Unstoppable Dreams event.
The main bout is between Angela Lee and Mei Yamaguchi in the women's atomweight title fight. - KIMBERLY KWEK
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