Amir Khan had a career to remember which included becoming a unified world champion, but he has now revealed the one fight he says has taken five years off his life.
Khan shared the ring with some of boxing biggest names, including Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford, who have been linked to a megafight in the near future.
Former super-lightweight champion Khan jumped up several weight classes to face Canelo at middleweight in 2016, suffering a sixth round knockout loss, before then taking on Crawford at welterweight in 2019, again coming up short via a sixth round stoppage.
With that in mind, the Bolton man has now weighed in on the potential match-up whilst talking to Fastest Payout Online Casino, but has given a stern warning to Crawford, claiming that his clash with Canelo is the one that has taken years off his life.
“It’s a very dangerous fight for Crawford, you’re only one punch away from getting hurt, Canelo’s power is always going to be there. Crawford has earned good money, he has a beautiful family, why risk it? You’re only one punch away from getting hurt, and he doesn’t really need the money or the fame.
“He’s pound for pound the best fighter in the world. I was never the same fighter again facing Canelo. You can get knocked down, fine, you can get back up again, but the knockout Canelo gave me, it probably took five years off my life.
“I was at the peak of my career and never came back as the same fighter again. I wasn’t gun shy or scared, but that one shot, it wasn’t good for the body or the mind. And it changed my opponent’s strategy for fighting me, they all started to try to land that one big shot.
“I don’t think Crawford and Canelo needs to happen. Canelo fighting these smaller guys – he fought me and a lot of other smaller guys – he needs to fight someone his own weight. He’s looking for an easy way out because he’s not going to get hit or hurt by anybody.
“It will hurt Crawford more if he loses against Canelo because he’s an unbeaten fighter. He doesn’t really need to take this fight to prove anything, he’s proven himself time and time again.”
Crawford returns to action against Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles in August, stepping up to compete for the WBA super-lightweight title, with attention then set to turn to the potential battle against Canelo.
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