Lightweight Oisin Fagan (22-5) faces the biggest fight of his professional career this Saturday night when he takes on Amir Khan (18-1) at the Excel Arena in London this Saturday night.

The Dubliner, who turns 35 on Christmas Eve, hopes that he can start the holiday season by defying the naysayers and causing an upset. Five inches shorter and almost 13 years older than Khan, Fagan will enter the ring the underdog, a role he is accustomed to and relishes.

Back in Ireland since July after almost a decade in Oklahoma, Fagan went to Belfast for camp with trainer John Breen for the past four weeks and is satisfied with his preparations thus far. "For my U.S. fights I was teaching so I wasn't taking any time off work, so this is the first time I've ever been able to train while not working. It is all about focus for me, and I have been able to prepare a lot more comprehensively than usual," Fagan told the Irish Voice from Belfast on Monday night. In preparation for his opponent, who is fast and slick, Fagan has been doing a lot of sparring with Derry native and light welterweight contender Paul McCloskey (17-0), who fights for the British light welterweight title this Friday against Colin Lynes in Essex. "The most elusive fellow around is Paul McCloskey, and I have been sparring with him," said Fagan. "He is a southpaw, and I understand obviously that Khan is orthodox, but just for the sheer evasiveness of Paul I think it was good sparring because he was hard to hit, and I don't expect Khan to be any harder to hit than Paul was." As Fagan told the Irish Voice a month ago, he has to get into Khan's face and not allow him to pot shot him from distance, even if it means taking a few shots before getting inside to work on his opponent's body. Though he admits he is not a power puncher, Fagan puts pressure on his opponents and will be keen to test the strength of Khan's chin, a subject of great scrutiny since his devastating knockout defeat to Breidis Prescott in September. Another thing that will work in Fagan's favor is that Khan's new trainer, Freddie Roach, will not be there to guide his charge. The renowned trainer will be working with Manny Pacquiao against Oscar de la Hoya in Las Vegas this weekend, and it will be his assistant Dean Powell who will man the 2004 Olympic silver medalist's corner on fight night. For Fagan, the media attention for this fight has been intense and at times challenging. The schoolteacher had to leave for London Tuesday, in part to be on call for press obligations during the prolonged build-up to the fight. "I don't really enjoy it to be honest, but I know it is part and parcel of it so I have to suck it up. It was getting to me particularly last week more than this week, but maybe I am getting used to it," said Fagan. "In America, cause it is such a big place, there are a lot of fights going on. For my fights against Spadafora or Kimbrough there wasn't as much hype, but because Khan is so hyped up it is a different story over here." That said, Fagan has had a good camp and is feeling good ahead of the fight. "I am actually in great form, I am very relaxed and I am looking forward to getting in the ring," he said. In other boxing news, Eddie Hyland (10-1, 3 KOs) will be in action on Thursday, December 4 against Gustavo Bailey (2-3) at the Roseland Ballroom. The 27-year-old super featherweight from Dublin will fight on the undercard of Bob Duffy's "Holiday Hits" in a contest scheduled for six rounds. Tickets are still available for the 12-fight card at the Roseland Ballroom or visit www.ringpromotions.com. Doors open at 6 p.m.; first bout at 6:30 p.m.