Amir Khan

About

Amir is the youngest British Olympic boxing medalist, winning silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics at the age of 17. He is also one of the youngest British world champions ever, winning the WBA Light Welterweight title at age 22.

Amir Khan began to box competitively at the age of 11, with early honours including three English school titles, three junior ABA titles, and gold at the 2003 Junior Olympics.

In early 2004 he won a gold medal at the European Student Championships in Lithuania, and in South Korea several months later he won world junior lightweight title after fighting five times in seven days. Khan qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics by finishing in first place at the 1st AIBA European 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

On 18 July 2009, Khan moved up to the light welterweight division to fight Andreas Kotelnik at the MEN Arena in Manchester for the WBA light welterweight title. Khan won by a unanimous decision, 120–108, 118–111, 118–111, and became the third-youngest Briton to win a world title, at the age of 22

In 2010, Khan announced he had split with British promoter Frank Warren and signed a deal with Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions, with Khan’s fights moving back to ITV.

As a committed humanitarian, Amir supports a number charitable and community causes. After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, he was among those who raised £1 million for its victims, and in the following year he visited Pakistan to dispense food in a camp set up after the Kashmir earthquake.

He has also been involved with a campaign that promotes child safety around British railways. Khan was also involved in a TV programme for Channel 4, Amir Khan’s Angry Young Men, which consisted of three 50-minute episodes in 2007.

Khan was nominated for the 2011 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

One of the most respected figures in boxing, Amir Khan is in demand for his boxing anecdotes and memories.