Amir Khan – Britain’s youngest Olympic Medalist and one of the country’s youngest world champions – has cemented his status as a fighting legend on these shores.
After starting his career with 18 straight wins, the Bolton man was shocked by hard-hitting Breidis Prescott, being served his first knockout loss in the first round of their Manchester bout.
He bounced back to win the WBA Super-Lightweight World title one year later against Dmitry Salita, and would make four defences as well as adding the IBF to his collection.
Khan is freshest in the memory for a domestic catchweight clash with no title on the line – that of Kell Brook in February 2022. The pair had been in a tense rivalry for many years, but only managed to put pen to paper after their primes had been and gone.
That was especially true in Khan’s case, who lost by sixth round TKO after being buzzed early on. Speaking to TalkSPORT, Khan said revealed that his heart was not in it.
“I remember looking at the clock before leaving the changing room. Training camp had gone really well – I felt so good, so sharp. Week of the fight, it’s like I hit a wall. I remember in the changing room warming up and it was like I was forcing myself to punch, to get into that rhythm.
The last thing I did do walking out was look at the clock – 11 o’clock I think it was – and thought within two hours I’ll be in my hotel in bed. To think like that is not good. I never thought like that in my life before. It makes me realised I knew it was over then.”
Brook outclasses Khan clearly on the night, and many said in hindsight that the now 36-year-old shouldn’t have been fighting at a high level.
He may agree, but says that the fight would go on for the fans regardless.
“No matter what, however I felt, I would’ve fought because I did it for the British public. They wanted to see that fight and it was for them. Even though when I was in training camp I was kind of feeling like I don’t have it in me no more, maybe because it was so hard having such a long time out of the ring.
But if I don’t take this fight against Brook, the whole nation’s gonna hate me for it … The public have been good with us. Bought tickets, given us the biggest paydays.”
Both Khan and Brook have subsequently hung up the gloves, although the latter continues to toy with a comeback. That’s unlikely for ‘King Khan’, who tested positive in the aftermath for a banned substance.
Although his case of contamination was accepted by an independent panel, he is still serving a two-year ban from all sports.