Amir Khan was a unified super-lightweight champion in the early 2010s before hanging up the gloves just last year.
The fan-favourite from Bolton mixed it with the likes of Marco Antonio Barrera, Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez and Terence Crawford during his campaign.
Someone he didn’t fight is two-weight champion turned Hall of Famer, Tim Bradley, despite attempts to do so. Bradley explained to Pro Box TV that it was a business decision at that point in his career.
“The reason why I have animosity to Amir Khan is when I was getting ready to face Manny Pacquiao I was come off the scale and he comes right next to me and say ‘why don’t you grow some balls?'”
“I’m getting ready for the biggest fight of my life, you’re pissed off because you didn’t get the Manny Pacquiao fight and that I didn’t fight you. It was a business decision.”
It’s an exchange that Bradley has never moved on from, so much so that he chooses Khan as the one man he would return to the ring for.
“I want to fight Amir Khan. I was hoping I ran into his ass over there but I didn’t … That’s the guy right there I could be 175 years old and I could be in a wheelchair, Imma run his ass over.”
Bradley – who himself retired in 2016 with a record of 33-2-1 – said that it wouldn’t play out as an exhibition for very long, sending a direct message to Khan.
“It doesn’t matter how old I get, I wanna kick your ass. Period. So if I got a chance… It won’t be an exhibition it would be a fight cause I’m gonna knock his ass out.”
“Amir Khan if you see this, man, and you want to do an exhibition. You want me to come over there to England and sleep you, I will. I will get up for you. No doubt about it.”
Khan has toyed with the idea of an exhibition and, perhaps ironically, Manny Pacquiao is his target. He is currently serving a ban from all sports until April 2024.