Amir Khan has revealed how he turned down deals with some of the biggest names in boxing to put his world title future in the hands of Jorge Rubio. The Bolton lightweight could have worked with high-profiles trainers such as Freddie Roach and Floyd Mayweather Sr, but has chosen the relatively unknown Cuban to run his corner for his 19th professional fight in Manchester on September 6.

"I trained with Freddie first and decided he was the man I wanted, then I worked with Buddy McGirt who I liked too," Khan said. "Then I trained with Floyd Mayweather Sr who was brilliant. I made up my mind that he was the guy I wanted. But my team told me there was one more guy to see in Florida.

"As soon as I trained with Jorge, I thought, forget all the other coaches, this guy is good. He taught me things I needed to work on. Even though he's not as well known as the others, that's probably a good thing for me."

Rubio, a former Cuban amateur boxer, progressed through his country's training system and was responsible for guiding the likes of light-flyweight Maikro Romero and heavyweight Odlanier Solis to Olympic gold medals. He defected shortly after being sent to Mexico to help coach their national squad, and now runs a modest gym in Miami with Yuriorkis Gamboa, the highly-rated Cuban bantamweight, his star fighter.

Khan is expected to spend extended periods in Miami for warm-weather training but will retain his base in Bolton with Rubio assisted by Dean Powell, Khan's former trainer and Sports Network matchmaker.

"I may not be very well known but I am very confident about my ability and I am convinced that I will make everybody over here happy by turning Amir into a world champion," Rubio said. "I have watched many of his previous fights and there are many things to work on but there is also an enormous amount of potential. We have worked very well together so far and I am sure it will continue."

Khan explained his decision to appoint a coach who boasts a predominantly amateur background and is short on world title experience. "It's about getting back to basics and back to the old amateur style of hitting and not getting hit," he said. "Jorge is the right man for me. My ambition is to win world titles with Jorge in my corner."

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