Boxing

Amir Khan

Amir Khan

Khan's hand speed was nearly as quick as his rise to fame and since his first pro bout in 2004, at the age of 17. He became a two-time world champion and a household name in world boxing.

Amir Khan is a professional boxer and former two-time world champion who is Britain's youngest ever Olympic-medalist. Since becoming a household name in sport, Khan has formed the Amir Khan Foundation to support people in need around the world.

His quick feet and blurring hand speed fast-tracked him for success on the professional circuit with Khan winning the WBA world junior welterweight title at the age of 22.

He defeated Andriy Kotelnik via unanimous decision in Manchester in 2009. This victory came less than a year after he was pole-axed inside a round by rugged Colombian Breidis Prescott.

Khan unified the WBA and IBF junior welterweight titles when he stopped Zab Judah in Las Vegas in July 2011. He lost his titles in his very next fight when he controversially got beaten by Lamont Peterson in Washington DC.

Peterson won a split-decision victory, but Khan was reinstated as WBA champion after Peterson tested positive for a drugs test.

In a shocking turn of events, Khan got stopped by America's Danny Garcia, which was his last fight at 140-pounds. In 2016 he ventured up to middleweight but was brutally knocked out in the sixth round by Pound for Pound superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.

In April 2019, he was pulled out of a WBO world welterweight title fight against Terence Crawford after a low blow.

After being floored in the opening round Khan struggled to get to grips with Crawford and some critics accused him of quitting after he refused to continue following an accidental shot to his groin in the sixth.

After nearly three years out of the ring, in 2022 Khan finally ended his 17-year rivalry with Kell Brook. On February 19, Brook earned bragging rights with a sixth-round TKO.

Khan announced his retirement in May 2022, but was then suspended from competing in any sport in 2023 after testing positive for a prohibited substance following his loss to Brook.
He accepted a violation of anti-doping rules but said he had not intentionally ingested the substance, an argument accepted by an independent panel following a hearing in January 2023.

Amateur career: Britain's youngest Olympic-medalist

Khan first came to prominence with a series of dazzling displays as he captured a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Before that Khan had served notice to the world by winning the AAU Junior Olympics in 2003 but it was his performances in Athens that captured the public's imagination.
He was just 17 in 2004 (Britain's youngest Olympic boxer since Colin Jones) but boxed brilliantly throughout the tournament and gave a great account of himself in the lightweight final against legendary Cuban Mario Kindelan.
That fight was watched by an estimated 8 million viewers on the BBC. Khan won a senior ABA title in 2005 and in the same year would avenge his loss to Kindelan by beating the Cuban in Khan's final amateur fight, a contest that was screened live by ITV.

Victory and defeat in 2019

Khan began 2019 at MSG to face "Bud" Crawford in April, where he challenged the three-division world champion for the WBO world welterweight title on ESPN pay-per-view.

However, his reputation took a severe shellacking after he jumped out following a low blow. Khan was knocked down in the first round by the unbeaten 31-year-old and was trailing on all three judges' scorecards when the fight ended.

Khan revealed referee David Fields told him he was allowed five minutes to recover from the blow, but in the end only took a minute before deciding he could not continue.

Of his decision not to continue Khan said in a post-fight press conference, "I'm not one of them guys to quit. I'm one of them fighters who'd rather get knocked out in fights and I have got knocked out because I've tried to win fights."

Khan looked visibly stunned when Crawford interrupted and asked "You didn't quit? Tell the truth." A clearly rattled Khan responded "Nah, I didn't quit. I'm telling you I never quit."

Khan's penultimate fight was against former featherweight titlist Billy Dib in 2019. Khan was initially expected to face off against Neeraj Goyat but the Indian was forced to pull out after getting injured in a car crash.
Khan got back to winning ways in Saudi Arabia, defeating late-replacement Dib inside four rounds.

The greatest hits: Maidana, Malignaggi and Barrera

Amir Khan

One of Khan's biggest early career wins came against Marco Antonio Barrera.

Rebuilding from his shock first round stoppage to Prescott, Khan dominated the former three-division world champion, leaving his face a bloody mask in Manchester after an exciting, mature performance.

No belts were on the line, but it thrust Khan back into the limelight at the expense of the fading Mexican.

Khan made his US debut against Paulie Malignaggi in 2010, with the Bolton boxer's elusive style proving all wrong for brash New Yorker Malignaggi, who was stopped in the 11th round of a largely one-sided contest at Madison Square Garden.

Only three men had previously been able to stop Malignaggi at the time (Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Juan Diaz), but Khan was magnificent on the night as he introduced that irresistible mix of speed, combinations and foot movement to a US audience for the first time.

If the Kotelnik fight was his coronation, one of his best performances came against Marcos Maidana. Khan dropped Maidana in the very first round after a pulverising hook to the liver and boxed to orders in the early rounds as he built up a healthy lead on the cards using that fabled hand speed.

Yet on this night he was forced to show his cojones late on as Maidana rallied and almost had him on the floor at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Named as 2010's Fight of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America, Khan established himself a fans favorite in America after winning the slug-feast via unanimous decision.

Amir Khan 2018

Khan would unify the junior welterweight division with a stellar performance over Judah before sustaining back-to-back defeats against Peterson and Garcia.

However, many felt Khan had done enough to secure victory over Peterson in Washington D.C, his hometown.

The American later failed a drugs test and Khan was reinstated as champion for his fight against Garcia but surrendered the belt after he got knocked out in the fourth round.

Khan was expected to face Mayweather with the deal agreed in principle after he overcame Julio Diaz in 2013.

Khan would miss out on a potential career payday against Mayweather with the American opting to face former foe Maidana instead.

After solidifying himself as one of the world's best welterweights in the world with a sensational performance over Devon Alexander, Khan was installed as mandatory challenger for the WBC title.

However, in a move which surprised the world, Khan dared to be great by moving up two weight classes to challenge Canelo for the WBC and Ring Magazine titles at middleweight.

Despite a bright start, and ahead on all three scorecards, Khan got knocked out in sensational style in the sixth round. Khan has fought 13 past, present or future boxers in his career, winning nine of them.

Khan's weight

Khan began his career as a lightweight and won the Commonwealth title in his 11th pro fight as he stopped Willie Limond.

He won the WBA title against Kotelnik at 140-pounds and enjoyed most of his best nights at the junior welterweight limit.

Following defeat to Garcia in a unification bout, Khan moved up to welterweight and beat the likes of Alexander and Algieri. King Khan' ventured up to middleweight to boxed Canelo but the worries about his punch resistance at the higher weight proved correct as he was taken out brutally by the Mexican.

Khan fought the Mexican at a catchweight of 158-pounds rather than the usual 160-pounds at middleweight. Khan would return to welterweight for his next four fights and hit the scales at 146.6-pounds in his bout against Australia's Dib.

Against Brook, Khan hit the same weight in a bout which was at a limit of 149lbs.

Khan's relationship with promoters

Khan signed professional terms with Frank Warren who guided his early career on terrestrial TV before leaving to join Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions in America.

In 2018, Khan signed a three-fight deal with Hearn's Matchroom Boxing in a failed attempt to deliver Khan vs Brook. It is believed Khan and his business partner Bill Dosanjh helped negotiate a reported $7million purse for his last fight in Saudi Arabia against Dib.

How to watch Amir Khan on TV

Khan's last fight in Manchester against Brook was on Sky Sports Box Office and is the biggest pay-per-view in the UK outside of any Anthony Joshua fight, according to promoter Ben Schalom.

His fight with Alvarez on a bill dubbed "Power vs. Speed" did over 600,000 buys in America while his showdown against Collazo generated 900,000 at Box Office.

When he fought Crawford, their PPV bout in America pulled in 150,000 buys according to multiple sources on ESPN+.

His comeback fight against Samuel Vargas featured on non-PPV and attracted a British record for a non-PPV bout, according to Hearn.

All in all, Khan has been watched by an audience of 82 million people around the world in his professional fights combined while he has generated more than $100million on PPV.

Amir Khan's net worth

Khan is one of the biggest earning British fighters of the 21st Century having fought some of the world's best. In 2016, it was estimated Khan had a purse of $13million for his defeat to Canelo while in 2014 he was the sixth-highest paid boxer with earnings of $15million.

Khan has previously spoken about his achievements in boxing and revealed he had made more than $80million from fighting.

Outside of the ring, Khan has had lucrative sponsorship deals with Reebok and ThinkMarkets. Khan featured on ITV's 'I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here' in 2017 with the show reportedly paying him £400,000 for his services.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Khan has a net worth of $40million.

Personal life

Khan was born and raised in Bolton and is married to beauty entrepreneur Faryal Makhdoom. The model owns her own make up brand and is an Instagram star.

The pair tied the knot in 2013 and remain together. They have two daughters and a baby boy. Khan also has three siblings and his brother Haroon Khan turned professional in 2013 and is currently 7-0 but has been inactive since 2017.

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