Amir Khan, the 2004 Olympic silver medalist who became a unified world champion at light-welterweight, has announced the end of his in-ring career.
Khan retires with a professional record of 34 wins from his 40 fights.
The 35-year-old wrote in a short statement on Twitter last week: “It’s time to hang up my gloves. I feel blessed to have had such an amazing career that has spanned over 27 years.
Khan ends a storied career, in which he also challenged for world titles at welterweight and middleweight, on a losing note after being stopped in the sixth round of a one-sided grudge fight by long-time rival Kell Brook in Manchester in February. Brook announced his own retirement last weekend.
Khan first came to the nation’s attention as a fresh-faced 17-year-old at the 2004 Olympics, losing to Mario Kindelan in their lightweight final in Athens, but the silver the Bolton teenager earned made sure he was Britain’s youngest boxing medalist at a Games.
He gained revenge over the Cuban in his last amateur bout, watched by millions on ITV, then switched to the paid ranks in 2005, dazzling audiences with his lightning reflexes and sharp hand speed.
Three fights and 10 months later, Khan realised a childhood ambition to become world champion, aged 22, after outpointing WBA titlist Andreas Kotelnik in Manchester, a few miles away from where he was born and raised.
Khan thereafter set his sights on America and a victory over Marcos Maidana in December 2010 in a nail-biting epic endeared him to fans on both sides of the Atlantic before he became unified champion at 140lbs the following year by dethroning IBF champion Zab Judah with a vicious body shot to earn a fifth-round knockout win.
He surrendered his belts after a contentious points defeat to Lamont Peterson, whose positive test for a banned substance in the lead-up to the rematch meant Khan was reinstated as WBA titlist.
It was a short reign as he was savagely stopped by Danny Garcia in July 2012, knocked down three times inside four rounds, a defeat that marked the last time he came to the ring holding a major world title.
Khan was also stopped inside six rounds by WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford in 2019 before surprisingly teaming up and training alongside the American in Colorado for his much-anticipated fight against Brook earlier this year. –Sportinglife
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