Amir Khan: British Board Was Too Harsh on Ricky Hatton

By Mark Vester

WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan is defending his good friend Ricky Hatton. He felt the recent decision by the British Boxing Board of Control was too harsh on Hatton. During a Thursday hearing, the BBBoC stripped Hatton of his license to box and his license as a boxing manager.

Hatton was punished for the recent video which showed him snorting several lines of cocaine. The Manchester fighter has since entered a rehab to clean up his life. The BBBoC allowed him to keep his license as a promoter. Hatton runs regular shows in the UK with his Hatton Promotions company.

"I bet there are footballers and cricketers who have done the same silly things, made the same mistakes as Ricky but they are still playing their sports," Khan said to ESPN UK. "It all seems very harsh and it makes the situation around Ricky look 100 times worse than it is. It's a real shame what happened and I am 100 percent behind him.

"He knows he has done wrong, the likes of Ricky and Joe Calzaghe know they have done wrong. After a few drinks we might all do stupid things."