Khan ready to go distance in St Clair bout

AMIR Khan expects to have to produce a career-best performance to make it an unhappy 33rd birthday for his Commonwealth lightweight title challenger Gairy St Clair at London's ExCel Arena tonight.

Former IBF world featherweight champion St Clair, a recognised survivor at the very top level, has lost five times in his 46-fight career but has never been beaten inside the distance.

Khan recognises that beating St Clair early would put down his marker on the world stage but knows that the unconventional 5ft 4in Guyana-born Australian citizen will pose the sort of problems he has never encountered before.

That could mean going 12 rounds for the first time but Khan insisted he was ready. "I've done 12 rounds in the gym a couple of times so I'm used to being in that zone," said Khan, who is definitely not underestimating the size of the task he faces.

"He's better than any British fighter I could meet. It's a big challenge for me but that's what I like in boxing.

"If I'm going to be a young world champion, I need these fights and I don't just want to win it, I want to win it in style for people to notice me around the world."