BANGKOK, Thailand – Amir Khan is the same age as his former opponent and reigning undisputed super middleweight champion Terence Crawford, but unlike the unbeaten Crawford, the 38-year-old Brit says he will never fight again.
“My days are over in the sport, and I think it’s about giving other people opportunities and letting them come up,” Khan told BoxingScene Monday night before the WBC convention gala dinner here. “I had a wonderful career, fought the best, won and lost, but I made my name big in the sport. These young fighters should take a leaf through my book.”
Khan closed his career at 34-6 with 21 KOs as a former 140lbs titleholder and welterweight title challenger who fought Canelo Alvarez for the middleweight championship, and staged the 2010 BWAA Fight of the Year by defeating rugged Argentinian Marcos Maidana by unanimous decision in Las Vegas.
“One thing I’m going to say is I’m not going to regret anything I ever gave to my sport, to boxing, to my career,” Khan said. “All the moves I made, all the decisions I made, it was all God’s plan.”
That said, having covered the Maidana fight ringside, I asked Khan if that version of himself could have defeated either of the Hall of Fame fighters who evaded him during the peak of his career, unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jnr and eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao.
“Yeah, 100%. And I learned that because they never wanted to fight me,” Khan said. “That’s why the fight[s] never happened.”
Khan had previously trained beside Pacquiao at coach Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California, and he believed the familiarity gave them a reason to shy from him.
Mayweather selected the tougher likes of Juan Manuel Marquez, Alvarez, Maidana and others during the stretch when Khan was shining.
In the Maidana bout – 15 years ago on December 11 – Khan dropped Maidana in the first round and endured hellacious punishment at times to answer prior criticism over the quality of his chin before gaining a thrilling victory defined by his talent via scores of 114-111, 114-111 and 113-112 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
He said he believes no man could’ve defeated him that evening.
“It could’ve been … the thing is, it never happened,” Khan said. “But on that [night], I would’ve beat all of them. And honestly, you know that’s the type of guy I am. I was always fighting with my heart, I gave my all, and at the peak of my career, when I took on Maidana and [former two-division titleholder Devon] Alexander, I was always taking big risks.”
Khan opened T-Mobile Arena to boxing in 2016, leading Alvarez on one judge’s scorecard through five rounds before getting viciously knocked out by the bigger man in the sixth.
“The fight with Canelo … look, it is what it is,” Khan said. “With Mayweather and Pacquiao, those fights were more my weight, and, look, those fights lift you up. When you fight those guys, you want to do good.”
He was stopped in the sixth round by Crawford in 2019.
“What [Crawford] did against Canelo was amazing,” Khan said of Crawford moving up two weight classes to become a five-division champion by unanimous decision.
“No one ever thought that would happen. What a fight that was. Look, you can never take anything away from them.They are at the top of the game. Well-respected, very good fighters. I liked the fight. The rematch is happening as well. They should make that happen. That will be another fantastic show.”
Khan retired after a 2022 sixth-round TKO loss to countryman Kell Brook. He’s not tempted – “I don’t think I’ll ever fight again,” he said – as Pacquiao plans another bout at age 47 and Mayweather said he’ll return next year as well.
Instead, Khan was embraced during his interview by France’s WBC second-ranked contender Souleymane Cissokho 18-0 (9 KOs), a former training and sparring partner of Khan.
And Khan kept his word about yielding to the next generation.
“I’m telling you, one day, Souleymane Cissokho is going to be a great world champion,” he said. “Almost there.
“I did everything I could … respected every promoter, every fighter. That’s why you see the [positive interaction here]. I’ve been nice to everyone on the way up. Now that I’m retired, it’s time to relax, but the respect is always going to be there.”
