Amir Khan has been speaking about the memory loss he suffered after one of his most bruising battles.
Bolton-born Khan became Britain’s youngest Olympic boxing medallist aged just 17 and turned professional in 2005. He soon captured the WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles, defeating top fighters like Marcos Maidana, Marco Antonio Barrera, Paulie Malignaggi and Zab Judah in what were often hugely entertaining battles thanks to great reserves of heart.
Later on, he moved up the weights to face the likes of Terrence Crawford and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and ended his career with a record of 34 wins from 40 fights with 21 KO victories.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine for their best I ever faced feature, Khan recalled how his experiences differed between different big punchers who beat him.
“When [Canelo] hit me, I didn’t really feel the punch, I was knocked out before I hit the floor. I do remember everything. There was one fight I don’t remember anything against Maidana. I’d rather be knocked out with one shot than take millions of shots like that because that definitely can affect you. [Against Breidis Prescott] that didn’t really feel that because I was still young.”
Khan took on former WBA regular world champion Marcos Maidana at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in December 2010, claiming a unanimous decision win after a 12-round war, in a fight that many fans deem to be one of the best in of that year.
The Argentinian powerhouse scored 35 wins in his career with an incredible 31 knockouts. He lost on five occasions, though was never stopped himself.
Though Khan suffered a number of high profile knock outs in his career, he can still be considered one of the bravest fighters of his generation.
He finally bowed out from the sport back in 2022 when he fought and was knocked out by his old British rival Kell Brook in the sixth round of their fight at Manchester Arena, though he has often spoken about a comeback.
