Former super-lightweight world champion, Amir Khan, has admitted that he would be open to coming out of retirement and return to the ring for a high-profile crossover clash.
Khan outpointed Andriy Kotelnik at Manchester Arena in 2009 to become the WBA 140lbs champion at just 21-years-old, going on to successfully defend the belt against Marcos Maidana and then unify the IBF title by knocking out Zab Judah.
However, ‘King’ Khan would later lose his belts to Lamont Peterson in a split-decision defeat, and was then knocked out by Danny Garcia in an unsuccessful bid for the titles as a challenger.
He later faced pound-for-pound superstars, Terence Crawford and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, with their respective welterweight and middleweight titles up for grabs, but lost to both men by sixth-round knockout.
His final outing came in February last year, matched with long-term rival, Kell Brook. Once again the Bolton fan-favourite was stopped in the sixth-round.
Now, Khan is pondering a comeback to the sport, as he eyes up a five-division jump up in weight to battle YouTuber-turned-boxer, Jake Paul, in the cruiserweight division, he told The Mirror.
“Jake Paul, he gets on my nerves a little bit,”
“I think the way he conducts himself the way he acts and he’s just full of himself as well and he thinks he can fight, he’s only been boxing for like a year, so yeah, I’d love to fight him. He’s been very lucky though, he’s a little bit heavier than me but I don’t mind putting the pounds on just to beat him up.”
Paul is coming off a decision win of MMA fan-favourite Nate Diaz, bouncing back from a loss to Tommy Fury in what was his first contest against a traditional boxer.
Before Khan can truly consider a clash with Paul, he must wait until the end of his sporting ban after failing a drugs test in the aftermath of his contest against Brook, which expires on April 5 2024.