In April, Amir Khan stepped into the ring for the first time in nearly two years to take on Phil Lo Greco.

The first leg of the comeback lasted just 39 seconds, as Khan put the Canadian on his back twice to earn his first win since 2015.

The 31-year-old’s next step toward a world title comes on Saturday night, when he takes on 29-year-old Colombian Samuel Vargas in Birmingham.

Vargas is a decent fighter with a professional record of 29 wins, two draws and three defeats. But he doesn’t really excel in any area and has been beaten whenever he’s taken on a truly top-class opponent.

The Colombian lasted just four rounds against Errol Spence in April 2015, and also lost to Danny Garcia in seven rounds in November 2016.

Vargas has a good chin and carries some power, but the 29-year-old takes a lot of shots and isn’t much of a technical boxer.

He has a tendency to drop his hands low when he thinks his opponents are out of range, and Garcia landed right hooks on the money time and time again before finally getting the stoppage.

Vargas has been chosen to give Khan more of a test than Lo Greco, but he is not the kind of fighter who could threaten the Bolton man’s hopes of getting back into the biggest fights.

Vargas struggled to deal with the power of both Spence and Garcia, and, although Khan isn’t a big puncher by any means, the former Olympic silver medallist possesses incredible handspeed and uses it to overwhelm his opponents.

Having looked fast and comfortable at the weight in April, there’s no reason to believe that Khan won’t come through this unscathed.

It’s unlikely that he’ll blast Vargas out inside the first few rounds. Equally, the Colombian probably won’t last much longer than he did against Garcia.

Expect Khan to win between rounds even and nine, setting up a big payday against Manny Pacquiao, or the dream fight against British rival Kell Brook.

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