It was less than a year ago that Khan was making similarly bold predictions about cleaning up in the lightweight division; a division that at the time was littered with dangerous fighters including Pacquiao, and which Marquez was about to join.

Then Khan fought the unknown Breidis Prescott, was wobbled by a jab and knocked out in just 54 seconds.

Since that defeat, Amir has wisely chosen to team up with arguably the best trainer on the planet, Freddie Roach. However, the effect Roach has had is hard to gauge given that Khan’s two fights under his stewardship were an easy second-round knockout of an over-matched Oisin Fagan and a technical decision over a bloated and over-the-hill Marco Antonio Barrera.

The once great Mexican had to be withdrawn after suffering a cut in the first round which bled heavily and affected his vision.

Why then is Khan, a work-in-progress 22 year old, taking a major step up to world championship level? Why is his manager, Frank Warren, often criticised for being overly protective of his fighters, taking such a big gamble?

The truth is that Warren and Sky need Khan to be a world champion now.

In past years Warren has appeared to have a monopoly over Britain’s leading boxers, but Khan is the only big name in his current stable of fighters, and Sky can no longer rely on Joe Calzaghe or (the presumably soon to be retired) Ricky Hatton for pay-per-view money spinners.

British boxing’s main promotional axis needs the public to forget Khan’s nightmare against Prescott, so that he can be a major revenue earner for them.

Kotelnik was presumably chosen as an opponent because he was considered to be the easiest route to a title. Khan has the advantages of youth, speed and height over the 31-year-old Ukrainian and, crucially given Khan’s suspect chin, Kotelnik has finished only 13 of his 34 opponents inside the distance.

To underestimate Kotelnik, though, would be a grave error. He is tough and capable and far from the “worst active world champion”, as Khan has labelled him.

Kotelnik had an outstanding record as an amateur, winning 135 of 150 fights and taking gold at the European juniors in 1995 and the European seniors in 1999. He won a silver medal at the Olympics in 2000, beaten by the Cuban legend Mario Kindelan, the same man who defeated Khan four years later in Athens.

On turning professional in 2000, Kotelnik joined the excellent trainer Michael Timm and his Hamburg gym. Timm has had nine world champions operating under his command and his current crop of fighters includes the unbeaten former middleweight champion, Arthur Abraham, and the former world heavyweight champion, Ruslan Chagaev.

Kotelnik is very much a product of Timm’s training style: he is a calculating, hard working, technically-sound boxer.

Kotelnik has won 31 of his 34 professional contests, has never been stopped and has gone the championship distance nine times. He will not be fazed by coming to Britain, having fought on these shores three times.

In 2005, some felt he was unlucky to lose a points decision to Junior Witter for the European Championship in Nottingham, and two years later the draw he suffered when challenging for Suleyman M’Baye’s world crown was reviewed by the WBA authorities, such was the controversy the decision generated.

Undeterred, Kotelnik came back to Britain to defeat Gareth Rees for the world championship in 2008.

The pattern of that fight may offer some clues for Saturday’s contest, with Kotelnik using a tight defence to weather the early storm from the home fighter, before weakening his opponent with body shots in the middle rounds and increasing the pressure in the late rounds to force a 12th-round stoppage.

Since taking the title, Kotelnik has made two successful defences, winning both fights on the scorecards. His most recent win came against the powerful Marcos Maidana, who recently blew away the highly touted Victor Ortiz in six rounds. Maidana has recorded 25 knockouts in 26 wins but could not overwhelm Kotelnik.

Maidana said: "He was a tough fighter because of his defence. It was impossible to penetrate his high guard. I threw bombs for 12 rounds, and I couldn't get to him because of his defence."

With Kotelnik’s impressive defence and superb chin, the likelihood is that Saturday’s fight will go the distance. It could well be that Khan’s aggression and volume of punches secure a favourable decision.

But this is by far the biggest test of Khan’s career and he will need to show much more of his potential than ever before to be victorious.

If he has not prepared carefully for this stepping stone, then he could be heading for a nasty fall - and the British public won’t be so quick to forgive and forget second time around.