Tag: Billy Dib

Amir Khan says he’s considering retirement: report

Amir Khan said retirement is one of the options he’s considering as he and his family cope with life during the coronavirus pandemic.

Amir Khan is thinking about calling it a day.

The 33-year-old Olympic silver medalist and two-time junior welterweight titleholder told Mirror Sport (U.K.) that retirement is one of the options he’s considering as he and his family cope with life during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Am I going to fight again?” he said. “I don’t know, I’m in two minds. Should I fight? Financially, I’ve done very well for myself. Do I need to do one more fight which could ruin my whole legacy? I don’t know the answer.

“I’m up against myself. I’m debating with myself should I carry on or call it a day? I’m just going to wait and see how I feel after a full training camp. Even if I feel I cannot do it anymore, I can walk away knowing I have done everything.

“My love for boxing is still there and I love boxing to bits. But until I see how I feel after a long, hard, grueling camp, then I won’t know for sure.”

Khan (34-5, 21 KOs) made it clear that he’ll face elite opponents in high-profile fights or not fight at all. And he recognizes the danger of tangling with top-tier foes.

He’s coming off a fourth-round TKO of Billy Dib last July.

“I want to be at the top level where I’ve always fought,” he said. “That’s where I belong and that’s how I want people to remember me. Win or lose, I’ve always fought at that top level. I’m only interested in fighting at that level.

“You can make mistakes when you try to carry on for too long and don’t call it a day. I’ll know myself when it’s time to stop.”

Amir Khan offers property as temporary hospital in pandemic fight

Amir Khan is offering to turn a piece of real estate into a temporary hospital for people infected by the virus and in need of care.

Amir Khan was looking for a fight. He found one.

Khan is joining the fight against coronavirus. He is offering to turn a piece of real estate worth about $5.9 million in England into a temporary hospital for people infected by the virus and in need of care.

Khan had planned to turn the property in his hometown of Bolton, near Manchester, into a place for weddings and shopping. It was scheduled to open in August. But that was before the pandemic changed lives and careers.

Khan made the offer on his Twitter account, saying: “I am prepared to give my 60,000 square foot 4 story building which is due to be a wedding hall and retail outlet to the NHSuk (the U.K.’s National Health Service) to help people affected by the coronavirus.

“Please keep safe.”

Boxing has gone dark for the foreseeable future. Khan, a former junior welterweight champion, hasn’t fought since a stoppage of Billy Dibb in July. He had been talking about a bigger fight. Longtime rival Kell Brook had been mentioned as a possibility.

But everything from the Olympics to prizefighting is on the shelf until the pandemic subsides.

“I am aware of how difficult it is for the public to get a hospital bed in this tragic time,’’ Khan said a few days after former stablemate Manny Pacquiao jumped into the coronavirus fight by donating buses, masks and testing kits to medical personnel in the Philippines.