Amir Khan Said He Retired Because His Love For Boxing Wasn’t There Anymore

Khan's world title reign was ended by a contentious points loss to Lamont Peterson, and he was stopped by Danny Garcia while attempting to win the WBC and WBA belts in his next fight.

In an interview, Amir Khan says it was time to retire from boxing because his “love for the sport wasn’t there anymore,” adding that his career has been “wonderful.”

Following his massive British battle with long-term rival Kell Brook in Manchester in February, the former world champion announced his retirement on Friday, ending with a 40-fight record of 34 wins and six defeats.

“It was a couple of weeks ago,” Khan told newsmen on Friday regarding when the decision was made.

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“Even before the last fight against Kell [Brook], my family were saying I should call it a day, and that I’d done everything I wanted to. I’d fought all around the world, against the biggest names in boxing, achieved many world titles. And it was in the back of my mind even before taking the last fight.

“But after it, I could feel that my love for the sport just wasn’t there anymore, and I decided I was going to call it a day but didn’t know when to announce it. That was a part of me that still wanted to do boxing and be part of it, but I just had to announce it.

“It feels quite funny really because boxing is something I’ve done all my life, and I’m so attached to it that I am going to miss it. I’ve had a brilliant career. My family told me a long time ago to retire, but I said, ‘No, I want to do a bit more’. it’s just hard to walk away from the sport. But I think it’s the right time to walk away now.

“Boxing has been brilliant for me. I thank all the fans, my trainers and coaches, my boxing family. It’s all I’ve known and it’s been wonderful. Since coming out of the Olympic Games at the age of 17, boxing changed my life and gave me a great platform.”

During a 40-fight career that included 34 wins and six losses, Khan unified world titles at super-lightweight and faced pound-for-pound stars Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Terence Crawford.

After winning an Olympic silver medal at the 2004 Athens Games, the Bolton fighter began his professional career in 2005. Khan won the WBA super-lightweight title in July 2009 by defeating Andriy Kotelnik on points, and he added the IBF title two years later by stopping Zab Judah.

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Khan’s world title reign was ended by a contentious points loss to Lamont Peterson, and he was stopped by Danny Garcia while attempting to win the WBC and WBA belts in his next fight.

Khan made the bold move up to middleweight to challenge Canelo for the WBC title, but was knocked out in the sixth round in May 2016 and was stopped by Crawford in the sixth round of their WBO title fight in April 2019.

In February, he shared the ring with Brook, embracing his rival in the ring after their feud was finally resolved.

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