Amir Khan mulls retirement after loss to Kell Brook

Amir Khan is contemplating retirement after losing to Kell Brook as the two feuding rivals buried the hatchet following their long-awaited grudge match at Manchester’s AO Arena.

Khan has had a storied career and will go down as one of Britain’s finest fighters, having followed up his 2004 Olympic silver by unifying the light-welterweight division and taking on the world’s best on the grandest stages.

He ended a two-and-a-half-year hiatus from the ring on Saturday night but was thoroughly outclassed by Brook, who has chased this fight for a long time and grasped this opportunity with both hands in the 149lb catchweight bout.

While Khan refused to go down, his face was heavily bruised as he weathered some brutal barrages from Brook, who had his rival pinned against the ropes when referee Victor Laughlin stepped in 51 seconds into the sixth round.

Brook breathed fresh life into his career after collecting the 40th win from 43 contests but an emotional Khan admitted a sixth defeat to go with 34 wins might spell the end of the road after 17 years as a professional.

“I’ll sit down with my family but I think it could be,” Khan said when asked whether this could be his last fight. “It’s something to think about, definitely.

“I’ve always said I never want boxing to retire me, I want to retire from boxing and punishment like that sometimes in boxing, too much of that can be sometimes harmful in the future.

“I’ll sit down with my wife and my family in the morning and see where we go from here.”

Khan was magnanimous in defeat as the former world champions, both 35, settled their differences after a fractious build-up where they had to be pulled apart by security on more than one occasion.

They have been at loggerheads for years and