A closer look at Amir Khan as one of Britain’s most entertaining boxers retires

Amir Khan hangs up his gloves safe in the knowledge he is one of the best boxers the UK has produced, bringing excitement and drama to the global stage and inspiring countless British Asians along the way.

Khan won Olympic silver as a teenager, was world champion at 22 and unified the light-welterweight division before his 25th birthday as his lightning reflexes and blurring hand speed overwhelmed many formidable opponents.

He might have achieved more – it seems peculiar his talents did not transcend to winning world titles in more than one division – but a suspect chin and a waning enthusiasm meant he spent the last decade of his career in purgatory.

Yet the legacy he leaves is more than the belts won or the millions banked, having been one of the few fighters from these isles to truly ‘crack’ the United States. At his zenith he split opinion like few others but he juggled boxing with several philanthropic endeavours and did not shirk speaking about difficult topics such as racism.

Born on December 8, 1986, in Bolton to Pakistani parents Falak and Shah, Khan, whose first cousin is former England cricketer Sajid Mahmood, claimed early on he did not get due recognition because of the colour of his skin.

But he cannot have failed to notice on the undercard of what proved his last fight against Kell Brook were Adam and Hassan Azim, two promising boxers who share the same British-Pakistani heritage with Khan, who stood out in amateur and professional codes.

He won 101 of his 110 contests in the unpaid ranks, where he first came to prominence nearly 18 years ago in Athens. Aged just 17, he became Britain’s youngest Olympic boxing medallist and their only podium position in the sport at the 2004 Games although he was denied