Amir Khan makes his return to boxing on Saturday night against Canadian fighter Phil Lo Greco - nearly two years since his middleweight defeat to Canelo Alvarez.

The former WBA light-welterweight champion has been a little lost over the past few years after losing his world title in 2012 and has failed to re-establish himself as a top contender.

Once regarded as one of the top fifteen pound-for-pound fighters around, Khan has struggled to maintain the levels of hype that he brought with him after his Olympic silver medal in 2004 was followed up with a world championship at just 22-years-old.

The fight with Alvarez was an attempt to rebound back into the big time after a series of low-profile victories, but the sixth-round knockout defeat only appears to have halted things further.

Khan's meeting with Lo Greco in Liverpool will offer the first genuine look at the Briton's ability to reach the top again as he puts his sights on gold in a second weight class.

Not that the 31-year-old believes it's just a case of getting back to where he once was - he feels he's even better.

Due to his trainer Virgil Hunter being unwell, Khan has called on Joe Goossen for this fight and the improvements are apparently clear to see.

“I've always liked the way that Joe trains his fighters,” Khan explained. “Every coach is different. Joe has wanted to get my fundamentals right.

"He wants me to box how I used to, be smart and not make mistakes. Why give the opponent a free chance to hit you?

"Joe has been telling me to keep the hands up and when I throw a shot to always remember defence while making sure the offence is firing too."

As for what the fans, and Lo Greco, and are in store for this Saturday night, Khan is clear.

“The Amir Khan you'll see is the one that boxes at a high pace with lots of combinations – but now when I throw them, there's going to be better defence behind them," he said.

"I feel better now than I did at 28. I'm 31 now, the peak years of my career, and I've made my mistakes and they're in the past, I don't want to make them again, so we move forward now and make the right choices.”