Amir Khan has been out of the ring since May 2016. His last engagement in a professional ring came when he was brutally knocked out by then WBC world middleweight champion, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. That was The Ring Magazine’s knockout of the year for 2016.
That bout happened at the catchweight of 155 lbs and following that bout, Khan had hand surgery to correct an ongoing problem which kept him out of action until this year.
It had been expected that Khan would make his return in the near future. However, he opted to instead spend the foreseeable future participating on the reality television series ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’
"Has there ever been a woman Prime Minister?" 🙋🏻🙋🏼#ImACelebpic.twitter.com/JOIVmvJoHN
— I'm A Celebrity… (@imacelebrity) November 27, 2017
“The longer Amir is out of action, the harder it will become and I think he is running out of time,” said Hatton, directly to The Sun. Hatton has his own experiences of suffering hard knockouts after he endured similar against a Manny Pacquiao at the height of his powers in 2009.
Hatton shared, “I’d love to see him back, there are a few miles left on his clock and he could finish on a massive high – but that clock is ticking.
‘The Hitman’ also suggested that Amir needs to do some soul searching, before deciding if he is ready to return to the squared circle.
“I get the impression looking at him on TV that even though he will be out of the ring for two years, there’s no reason he can’t do it – but the question is does he want to?
Great 6 rds sparring today with @damianchambo@HattonGym with @JakeHaigh@MagicMattHattonpic.twitter.com/AQ1Eiqiqgy
— Ricky Hatton MBE (@HitmanHatton) November 24, 2017
Furthermore, Hatton explained “It’s extremely difficult mentally to get back to the shape you need to fight after so long. The more regularly you box, the easier it is to control your nerves.”
“But the longer you are out the more questions you ask yourself: ‘Have I still got it? Do I have to go through all the rubbish with training camps again?” Hatton commented, on a final note.
Always good to have the big man, @Tyson_Fury who's looking sharp, in the gym today with @davidthewhiter1@WBCBoxing@WBABoxing@IBFUSBAboxing@HattonBoxing@MatchroomBoxing@BTSportBoxingpic.twitter.com/vZXcu4CwbH
— Ricky Hatton MBE (@HitmanHatton) November 23, 2017
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