Amir Khan reveals he ‘did NOT want to be there’ when he fought Kell Brook and claims a fight against ‘good friend’ Manny Pacquiao would be ‘brilliant’
- The former world champion claims he now feels he is ‘the people’s fighter’
- Khan also said he and Tyson Fury are ‘very different people’ in and out of the ring
- Are we just days away from a Fury v Usky announcement? Listen on The Hook
Former boxing world champion Amir Khan has revealed he ‘did not want to be there’ during his fight against Kell Brook.
The 36-year-old fighter was stopped by Brook in February last year and subsequently announced his retirement after a 27-year career.
However, speaking in an exclusive interview with Charlotte Daly on The Hook, Bolton-born Khan hinted at a potential fight against former Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.
‘If I fight Manny Pacquiao I think it would be a brilliant fight. He’s someone I’ve always looked up to and trained with him so we know each other quite well,’ he said.
‘Time-wise it’s also good for us both. That’s one fight that would lift me up and I’d want to perform because he’s a legend.
Amir Khan pictured during his stoppage defeat to Kell brook in February last year
The 36-year-old said he would love to fight Manny Pacquiao because it would ‘lift me up’
‘In the last fight with Brook it wasn’t the same. I knew I had made enough money, I could chill out – I didn’t even want to be there.’
Khan also added: ‘People want to see me fight. People are entertained by watching me so I have to keep performing for them. I’ve then become a people’s fighter.’
Asked by Daly what it is like to fight in a big venue, he said: ‘It’s amazing honestly when you’re walking out and your name is being shouted out. You do get goosebumps. You are nervous as hell.
‘Sometimes I think I should have picked another sport. Why am I doing this again? But you know you’re ready mentally… it’s just time to go to war and you switch on and your nerves are gone and you’re waiting for that bell to go.’
Describing what his fighting camp is like compared to the Gypsy King, Khan added: ‘Tyson and me are very different characters. Tyson is a very lively person, he’s fun and jumps about.
‘[Before a fight] with me it was more just praying and having the room nice and calm and settled because I know I’m going to war so my mind needs to be at peace and I need to think about the game plan. I was the total opposite.
The Bolton-born boxer also shed light on his ‘quiet’ dressing room and post-fight celebrations
‘I can see Tyson having a loud room because that’s what he’s been around. I’ve always been around quiet rooms.’
Even after a fight, Khan insisted he doesn’t like to party and it was always very quiet.
‘I would normally go out to dinner with the family or have a little after party in a hotel room, but I would only be there for five or ten minutes.
‘You’ve just been in an arena with loads of noise and people shouting your name so you just want a bit of peace and quiet to bring you down to earth.’
Khan announced back in August he and wife Faryal Makhdoom had split, before accusing her of cheating on him with heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
Following a lengthy rift that involved Makhdoom and his family, Khan has buried the hatchet with relations – watching Floyd Mayweather beat up Conor McGregor with his father Shah – as well as Joshua.
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