Looplane's Up Close and Personal with Light Welterweight World Champion Amir Khan

Amir Khan Biography

The rising superstar of world boxing, Britain’s Amir “King” Khan (26-1, 18 KO’s) burst on to the scene at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, where he captured a silver medal at the tender age of just 17.

Quickly tipped for superstardom following his stunning success he has carried that momentum into his professional career which has seen him rise to the very top of the light-welterweight division. Khan won the WBA light-welterweight world title in July of 2009 with a commanding 12-round win over Andriy Kotelnik and then successfully defended his belt with knockout wins over Dmitriy Salita and Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi.

In what was his US debut, taking place at the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York, the boy from Bolton wowed onlookers with his assured demolition of the former world champion Malignaggi. His poisonous jab, along with his speed, was too much for the New Yorker who saw the fight stopped in the 11th round. Boxing’s greats were at ringside and were quick to lavish praise on a fighter who is set to dominate the sport for years to come.

His most exciting defence, however, came on December 11, 2010 during which Khan scored a dramatic 12-round unanimous points victory over Argentine bruiser Marcos Maidana. The fight saw Khan score a first round knockdown and dominate the early rounds of the fight before Maidana made the bout a close one by closing the gap in the late rounds.

Khan displayed an incredible amount of heart and fortitude in surviving a vicious tenth round onslaught by Maidana that would have sent most fighters to the canvas. He survived the round and came out swinging in the eleventh and twelfth round, sealing the unanimous decision victory in an instant classic. The fight was so acclaimed that it was named the Boxing Writers Association of America’s 2010 ‘Fight of the Year’.

The 24-year-old returned to England for the first time in over a year on April 16, 2011 when he took on the European light-welterweight champion, the undefeated Paul McCloskey, whom he dominated for six rounds before the fight was stopped due to a cut. It was an easy night’s work for Khan who looked calm and assured throughout.

In Khan’s latest fight on July 23 2011 he took on the IBF light-welterweight world champion, Zab Judah, in a unification matchup at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. His bid was to become Britain’s youngest ever unified champion and show the boxing world that he had no equal in the 140lb division.

With his WBA light-welterweight world title on the line, the young sensation was up against a five-time world champion who had faced some of the very best fighters of the modern era such as Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

From start to finish Amir was dominant. His strength and ring generalship was too much for Judah as he put on one of the best boxing displays of his career, eventually stopping the Brooklyn fighter in the 5th round.

The win was a momentous one and propelled Khan into the top ten of the mythical pound-for-pound rankings.

The British ace is set to enter the lion’s den in his latest assignment when he takes on number one IBF contender Lamont Peterson in the American’s own backyard of Washington DC on December 10th 2011.

Away from the ring Khan is a humble and down-to-earth sportsmen who is often keen to support charitable causes such as raising funds and awareness for those affected by natural disasters like the July 2010 floods in Pakistan and the devastating Haiti earthquake which struck only a few months earlier.

The boxing ace is also eager to offer his help closer to home, opening up Gloves Community Gym, which keeps underprivileged kids of the street by giving them the chance to learn the art of boxing. Khan has also supported a number of other causes such as Network Rail’s ‘No Messin’ Campaign’ which aims to make young people aware of the dangers of playing on railway tracks by getting them involved in activities such as sport or music.

Khan’s future in the sport of boxing is an extremely bright one; he is looking forward to seeing of his last significant challenge in the light-welterweight division on December 10th, before moving up and taking on the best in the 147 pound category, as he aspires to fulfill his dream of becoming a multi-weight world champion – joining only a handful of boxing’s greats who have achieved such a feat.