From Getting Knocked Out In 54 Seconds To Becoming World Champion… The Highs And Lows From Amir Khan’s Rollercoaster Career
If Amir Khan chooses to retire after his grudge match against Kell Brook, it will bring to an end one of the most entertaining and unpredictable stories in British boxing history.
Khan has suggested he will continue in the sport regardless of the outcome of their long-awaited fight in Manchester on Saturday. But if history has taught us anything with Khan, it’s to take nothing for granted.
For nearly two decades, the Bolton fighter has fascinated the nation with his blistering hand speed and suspect chin. Capable of winning and losing a fight at any given moment, Khan has proved irresistible to watch.
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Here we take a look at some of the notable highs and lows from his unique career.
Winning Olympic Silver
Khan burst onto the scene as a fresh-faced teenager at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
He was Great Britain’s sole representative in boxing at the Games and the 17-year-old would fly the flag proudly - reaching the lightweight final, with more than eight million Brits tuning in watch his defeat to Cuba’s Mario Kindelan.
Khan would go on to avenge that loss in the amateurs in 2005 before turning professional later that year.
Losing To Breidis Prescott
Khan began his professional career with 19 consecutive victories but concerns began to be raised over his punch resistance after he was put down in wins over Willie Limond and Michael Gomez.
His unbeaten start to the paid ranks would come to a dramatic end in 2008 with a stunning 54-second knockout defeat to Colombia’s Breidis Prescott in Manchester.
In his first ever pay-per-view fight, Khan was overwhelmed the opening seconds of the bout and was floored by a two-punch combination from Prescott.
After barely managing to regain his feet, Khan was put down for a second time – prompting referee Terry O’Connor to stop the fight inside the opening minute.
Becoming World Champion
Khan bounced back from his defeat to Prescott with wins over Ireland’s Oisin Fagan and ageing former three-weight world champion, Marco Antonio Barrera.
He would move up to the light-welterweight division to challenge Andreas Kotelnik for the WBA belt in the first world title fight of his career.
Under the guidance of legendary trainer Freddie Roach, Khan took a unanimous decision victory – becoming the third-youngest Brit to win a world title, at the age of just 22.
Fight Of The Year
Khan would spectacularly beat Dmitry Salita in his next fight, knocking out the American in round one to successfully defend his world title.
He would later beat Pauli Malignaggi in the 11th round of his US debut at Madison Square Garden, before making his Las Vegas bow later that year against the hard-hitting Argentine, Marcos Maidana.
Khan began the fight with ferocious speed - dropping Maidana with a body shot in the opening round, with the challenger only narrowly making it to the bell.
However, Maidana would rally in the second half of the fight and managed to rock Khan with a huge right hand in 10th round.
Despite immense pressure from Maidana, Khan held on to take a unanimous decision victory, with the Boxing Writers Association of America later naming it Fight of the Year for 2010.
Consecutive Defeats
Khan would go on to beat Zab Judah for the IBF light-welterweight belt before successive defeats would bring his career to a grinding halt.
The Bolton fighter would lose his world titles in a split decision loss to Lamont Peterson in 2011 but was later reinstated as WBA champion after the American failed a drugs test.
He would come up against undefeated WBC champion Danny Garcia in his next fight but was comprehensively outboxed.
Despite being the favourite, Khan was dropped three times by Garcia before the fight was called off in the fourth round.
Stepping Up To Face Canelo
Khan would split with Roach after the Garcia fight and rebuild his career with five straight victories under the guidance of Virgil Hunter, including wins over Luis Collazo, Devon Alexander and Chris Algieri.
After failing in his attempts to secure a mega-fight with Floyd Mayweather, Khan would step up two weight divisions to face Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez for the WBC middleweight title.
The early rounds were an even contest but Canelo's power would eventual overcome Khan's speed, with the British fighter emphatically knocked out by a brutal right hand in round six.
Losing To Crawford
After a two-year break from boxing, Khan would return to the ring against Phil Lo Greco – knocking out the Canadian in the opening moments of the fight.
He would go on to comfortably beat Venezuela’s Samuel Vargas in Birmingham before being handed another shot at a world title, this time against undefeated WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.
Khan was knocked down in the opening round as Crawford dominated proceedings.
The fight was eventually stopped in the sixth round when Khan was hit with an unintentional low blow, with his trainer Hunter throwing in the towel during the five-minute allocated recovery time.
Khan would later reunite with Crawford as part of his preparations to face Brook, training alongside the three-weight world champion in Colorado Springs.
Rory O'Callaghan