Manchester Arena, Manchester - Amir Khan (34-6, 21 KOs) admits that his career may finally be over, after suffering a one-sided stoppage loss to career rival Kell Brook (40-3, 28 KOs).
After ten years of differences, the former world champions collided in the ring.
Khan was coming back from a long layoff, with his last fight taking place in July of 2019 - when he stopped an overmatched Billy Dib.
However, things were much different on Saturday night.
Brook rocked Khan twice in the very first round - and then continued to outland the Bolton boxer with hard power punches throughout the contest.
The end finally came in the sixth round, when Brook was unloading on Khan with power shots - prompting the referee to step in and wave off the fight.
Khan left no stone unturned to prepare for the fight. He traveled to the United States to train with veteran coach Brian 'Bomac' McIntyre. And even McIntyre's star fighter, WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford, assisted Khan with his preparation.
Despite the changes, the 35-year-old Khan was unable to make the proper adjustments to the heavy blows of Brook.
Khan, while admitting the end of his career was near, gave high praise to his bitter rival.
“It could be the time, I need to speak with my family. I just feel like I couldn’t get in a groove, it’s something I need to think about," Khan said.
“The better man won, he put on a great performance tonight and there’s no disrespect to him because he came out to win. It was one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever fought in, the fans came out to watch a great fight and they got what they paid for.
"I've always said I never want boxing to retire me, I want to retire from boxing. Punishment like that sometimes in boxing, I know I showed a big heart and took some big shots today, but sometimes too much of that can be harmful in the future.
"I've done more than I ever expected. Maybe I peaked too early, I was at the Olympics at 17, I won the world title at 22. I'm 35 now, I've been in the game a very long time, I'm an old man. I want to spend time with my kids and my family."