By Edward Chaykovsky
Former world champion Amir Khan (31-4, 19KOs) in planning to meet with his adviser, Al Haymon, to discuss his planned ring return in 2017.
Khan has been out of action since suffering a knockout loss at the hands of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in May. For that contest he moved up in weight to 155-pounds to challenge Canelo for the WBC middleweight world title.
The Bolton boxer wants to fight again in the UK. Khan hasn't fought on home soil in four years. Khan won a very close decision over Julio Diaz back in April of 2013, in a fight which took place in Sheffield.
"I’m going to have a meeting with my manager Al Haymon after Christmas but I’d like it to be in the UK. It depends if my opponent wants to travel but I would love to take a fight in the UK, it’s been a long time," Khan told The Mirror.
The loss to Canelo was not the sole reason for Khan's inactivity. He had surgery on his right hand, twice, to fix an old injury that's been getting worse over the years.
“My hand is healing well, I’m just getting used to punching again. I’ve used it in a couple of sessions and now it’s about building my confidence. I feel a difference when I punch, the hand feels more secure. I remember when it used to be weak and I couldn’t punch without getting a sharp pain," Khan said.
According to Khan, 30-years-old, he wants to retire from the sport after four or five more fights.
Khan wants to avoid the same fate as future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins, who last week was viciously knocked out at the hands of the much younger Joe Smith Jr. The 51-year-old Hopkins, who was coming off a two year layoff, wanted a retirement fight.
"I want to go out on a high. You’re always one fight away from losing and maybe Bernard should have packed it in when he knew he was getting that bit older. But he took that one last fight," Khan said.
