Amir Khan announces his retirement from boxing aged 35

British boxer of Pakistan origin Amir Khan announced his retirement from boxing aged 35 after defeat to compatriot Kell Brook in February.

Khan, Olympic lightweight silver medallist at the 2004 Athens Games when he was 17 years old, won the WBA light-welter belt from Ukrainian Andriy Kotelnyk in 2009 and added the IBF title in 2011 when he beat American Zab Judah.

He bows out with a record of 34 wins from 40 fights, with six defeats, Reuters reported.

His latest was a sixth-round stoppage against long-term rival Brook, who retired last week, in Manchester.

“It’s time to hang up my gloves,” the 35-year-old, who turned professional in 2005, said on Twitter.

“I feel blessed to have had such an amazing career that has spanned over 27 years.”

It’s time to hang up my gloves.
I feel blessed to have had such an amazing career that has spanned over 27 years.
I want to say a heartfelt thanks and to the incredible teams I have worked with and to my family, friends and fans for the love and support they have shown me. pic.twitter.com/VTk0oxVjp2

— Amir Khan (@amirkingkhan) May 13, 2022

His decision came almost three months after he was stopped by his great rival Kell Brook and it will be met with relief that he is no longer prepared to take such risks in the ring, Dailymail UK reported.

With Khan’s habit of selecting the most dangerous possible opponents, and then the front-foot manner in which he faced them, it had become a matter of serious concern that as a clearly faded fighter he was said to be contemplating a rematch with Brook.

Khan also contested world belts at welterweight and middleweight, most recently in 2019. His final record saw Khan balance 34 wins against six defeats, with 15 opponents either former or current world champions — though it was the Bolton fighter’s great courage that will likely define how boxing fans remember his exploits in the ring.

If the knockout defeat at middleweight by Canelo Alvarez in 2016 could be classified as a gutsy misadventure, then arguably his peak moment came in weathering a relentless 10th-round storm to defeat the Argentinian Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas in 2010.