The Times - UK (2022-05-17)

In the end retirement was a simple

decision for Amir Khan. Once upon a

time he talked about retiring at the age

of 22, but it actually took him another

13 years. He wants to stay in the sport as

a promoter and pundit, and he hinted

that he may even go back into the

jungle as reality television offers fly in.

There looked to be no way back for

Khan after his one-sided loss to his old

rival Kell Brook in February, and while

there was still talk of offers — notably

to face Conor Benn — and even

rumours that he was interested, Khan,

the former WBA and IBF light-welter-

weight champion, has now said that he

was never serious.

Indeed, it was during his training

camp for the Brook fight, as Khan

suffered a series of injuries, that he

realised he was finished.

“I’d worked hard, don’t get me wrong,

I’d trained hard, but I didn’t have it in

me,” he said. “I was already done as a

fighter. I’m not as good as I used to be.

So, I had to be honest with myself and

call it a day.

“I’ve got a beautiful family, beautiful

kids, I’ve got enough money in the

bank, so let’s sit back and relax. Why

continue when anything can happen?

You’re only one punch away from get-

ting hurt, knocked out or even killed.

“That’s something I was always

scared of, that I wouldn’t be there for

the kids. There’s no point making all

this money and you don’t enjoy it.”

And so ends one of the most influen-

tial careers in modern British boxing.

Wherever people choose to rank him

on their all-time lists, whether he makes

it into the International Boxing Hall of

Fame or not, there is no doubting the

impact he has had since he won a silver

medal at the Athens Olympics as Great

Britain’s lone boxer at the age of 17.

That medal sparked a huge cash

influx into Olympic boxing that led to

the creation of GB Boxing’s headquar-

ters in Sheffield and the rush of medals

since, including golds for James De-

Gale, Anthony Joshua, Nicola Adams,

Luke Campbell, Lauren Price and Galal

Yafai. It also encouraged terrestrial tele-

vision — namely ITV — to get back into

big-time boxing, as well as a generation

of boxers from an Asian background.

Whether he fulfilled his vast talent as

a professional could be questioned. He

was a world champion at 22 and unified

world titles in Las Vegas. He lost the last

of those titles in 2012 and boxed on for

another decade without becoming a

world champion again. The two big

fights he forever chased — Floyd

Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao —

also never came to fruition.

But if he fell short, he did so by chas-

ing the stars. He took his career to the

United States, looking for the biggest

challenges, even when a more cautious

approach might have been sensible.

It led to him being knocked out cold

by Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez in an auda-

cious move up to middleweight. But

with blinding hand speed, often under-

mined by a lack of punch resistance,

Khan was seldom in a dull fight.

Many boxers walk away, though, and

some find it difficult without the routine

or the bright lights. Khan does not

believe he could be tempted back, even

for exhibitions, as Mayweather, Mike

Tyson and Ricky Hatton have been. He

has plenty to fill his time, with business

projects, charity work and talks about

becoming a television pundit.

“With these injuries I’m getting, if I

were asked to get in a ring I would be

like, ‘Hell no,’ ” he said. “I want to enjoy

this retirement. I’m doing a lot of

building work, real estate and other

things. I need to make sure I’m invest-

ing in the right things. I’ve just done a

big deal with some guys in New York,

doing some work on the promotional

side. I’m going to be doing some more

shows in the UK, so I’ll have my foot in

the door, but not in the ring.

“There won’t be anything to match

the intensity of boxing, but what helps

is the charity work. When I go to third-

world countries — it’s dangerous, but

you’re helping put a smile on people’s

faces. That gives me the same buzz and

that’s something I’m going to do a lot

more of now that I’m not a fighter.”

But television could be the next stop.

Having changed many people’s percep-

tions of him with an appearance on I’m

a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in

2017, a return could be on the cards.

“I’ve been asked to do a very, very big

show. I can’t give the name to you, but

I’ll give you a clue. I’ve been on it before,

so.. .” he said, trailing off. “Look, I think

it’ll be brilliant. The only reason I did it

last time was because I had the hand

injury. It was one of the best experien-

ces I’ve ever had — apart from seeing

spiders and snakes and shit.”

But being an ex-fighter should not be

too difficult, with even his old rivals

saying nice things. “I met Mayweather

the other day, he was so respectful,”

Khan said. “He said, ‘You have had such

a brilliant career.’ When that comes

from someone like him, that’s amazing.

“And they didn’t want to fight. It

shows there must be something good in

my career, that they were scared of

fighting me.”

His five biggest fights

Mario Kindelán August 29, 2004,

Athens A 17-year-old with the nation

behind him runs a legend close for

gold in the Olympic lightweight final

Andreas Kotelnik

July 18, 2009, Manchester

Claims WBA super-lightweight title

at 22, with punch-perfect display

Marcos Maidana

December 11, 2010, Las Vegas

Probably his finest win, dropping

Maidana early before being badly

hurt and boxing his way to victory

Zab Judah July 23, 2011, Las Vegas

Added the IBF title by knocking out

big-name American with body shot

Devon Alexander

December 13, 2014, Las Vegas

Brilliant display was supposed to

set up fight with Floyd Mayweather,

but it never materialised

Dettori lined up to ride

Piz Badile at the Derby

Racing Frankie Dettori has been

booked to ride Piz Badile in the

Cazoo Derby at Epsom.

The horse has been kept fresh

for the Classic since winning the

Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown

in early April, with his trainer,

Donnacha O’Brien, ultimately

deciding against a return to the

Foxrock venue for the Derby

Trial won by Stone Age.

Gavin Ryan, the champion

apprentice in Ireland in 2020, has

been on board Piz Badile for each

of his three starts to date, but will

be replaced by Dettori on June 4.

The 51-year-old jockey broke

his Derby duck at the 15th

attempt on Authorized in 2007

and doubled his tally with Golden

Horn in 2015. Alan Cooper, the

racing manager to Piz Badile’s

owners, the Niarchos family, said:

“The horse is in good form.”

Jantjies faces charges

Rugby union The South Africa

rugby player Elton Jantjies has

been charged with malicious

damage to property and breaking

aviation laws after allegedly

smashing a TV screen and

swearing at passengers and crew

members on a flight.

The 2019 World Cup winner

was arrested on Sunday when his

flight from Dubai landed in

Johannesburg. He was released

on bail and appeared in court

yesterday. His agent, James

Adams, said that the incident had

been unnecessarily “heightened”.

Mathews’ agony on 199

Cricket Angelo Mathews became

the 12th Test batsman to be

dismissed on 199 when he was

Sri Lanka’s last man out in a first

innings of 397 against

Bangladesh. Mathews, who has

one Test double hundred, went

after a wide delivery from the off

spinner Nayeem Hasan and

mishit it to Shakib Al Hasan at

mid-wicket. “It would have been

nice to get that one run but you

have to take what God gives you,”

Mathews said. “I’m thankful I

was able to play a good knock.”

Sport

Man who helped spark

era of British success in

boxing convinced he

is retiring at the right

time, writes Ron Lewis

ANDREW COULDRIDGE/ACTION IMAGES/REUTERS

Khan was beaten by Brook in February and called time on his career last week

Khan never quite fulfilled talent

545 Tuesday May 17 2022 | the times