Hyder gives St Clair high praise

Fast-talking trainer Angelo Hyder reckons British star Amir Khan has bitten off more than he can chew by taking on Gairy St Clair - after seeing the challenger give a heavyweight a good hiding. St Clair, who challenges Khan for the Commonwealth lightweight title on February 2 at London's ExCel Arena, is now under Hyder's care in New South Wales having been raised in Guyana. And it was Hyder who was in the corner when he beat Cassius Baloyi to lift the IBF World Super-Featherweight crown in 2006. That was viewed as a shock by many - but not Hyder, who had been impressed with St Clair ever since he landed in Australia in 2001 and started doing the business in sparring. "We had a big heavyweight in our gym called Mad Mick who was built like a brick out-house and ate raw meat for breakfast," said Hyder. "He had muscles on muscles and made Crocodile Dundee look like a fairy boy. "He was a bully in sparring, and used to knock the other lads around, and one day he took a liberty with Gairy. "Well that was a big mistake because when the little fella gets mad, he gets really mad. He battered Mick all over the place. I swear, I've never seen anything like it before. "We never saw Mick again - and I'm not surprised, because Gairy gave him a right going over." He added, "If Khan thinks this is going to be a walk in the park or a four round job then he's made a big mistake. Gairy is going to be firing back every time he gets cracked, and he won't stop walking forward. "He went into Baloyi's back yard to win the IBF title, and he'll do the same to Khan." Hyder, a former Australian Army boxer, is no stranger to the UK, and was the man in Sakio Bika's corner when he gave Joe Calzaghe one of the toughest fights of his career. Bika went on to win the third series of Contender. He has also worked with brothers Hussein and Nedal Hussein, as well as three-time world champion Vic "Raging Bull" Darchinyan.