Haroon Khan returns to the professional platform Friday in a bid to advance his winning record, which currently stands at two victories and no losses.
The 22-year-old Bolton man and younger brother of former WBA and IBF world light welterweight champion Amir Khan is hoping to heap further misery on Bulgarian Stefan Slavchev.
Slavchev, 20, has won just three of his 11 fights, per BoxRec, and has lost his last six—the most recent three coming by way of TKO.
In that sense, Khan can be confident of grabbing his second successive knockout victory over an opponent who has only served as a stepping stone for other fighters over the last 18 months.
Date: Friday, Nov. 15
Time: 7 p.m. local time (GMT)/2 p.m. ET
Venue: Winter Gardens, Blackpool
After fighting twice in the space of a month earlier this year, the last six months will have been long ones for Khan, whose most recent bout was a triumph over Vincente Medellin in Atlantic City.
Upon the announcement that his next opponent had been set in stone, the youngster was clearly eager to get back to his winning ways, per ESPN:
I'm very pleased that my opponent has now be confirmed. Now I can start working on some specific things with my trainer Oliver Harrison in order to prepare for him.
I know Stefan will be coming to get the win so I'll need to be at my sharpest and make sure I'm ready. Training has gone great and I can see the improvements I'm making all the time in the gym. I can't wait for November 15 because I'm ready to put on a great performance.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist will continue to fight under his sibling's Khan Promotions banner, but he also must compete with the ongoing notion of living in Amir's shadow.
For Haroon, however, it's barely the beginning of his story, and the North West native will be hoping to stake his own claim to success.
Prediction
Despite being two years older than his opponent this weekend, Khan is still the far less experienced of the two fighters and is being handled very carefully in his first professional bouts.
Slavchev is quite the opposite and has taken every fixture thrown his way, with Khan being the fifth unbeaten opponent the Bulgarian will have faced in his last seven fights.
Like his older brother, Khan's style is largely built on speed and evading the man opposite him, although it did take him just 57 seconds to finish off Medellin when he ventured across the pond in May.
Back on home shores, Khan will once again be able to rely upon a strong home advantage, and his talent should shine through against an inferior opponent.
Prediction: Khan wins by TKO
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