

“I’ve been asked to do a very, very big show. Khan also let it slip that he will return to reality television this year – having appeared in I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2017. I hope people will always remember that Amir Khan was an exciting fighter, who gave his all when he stepped inside the ring.” I tried to give everyone the biggest fights they ever wanted, tried to have them on the edge of their seats and win, lose or draw, it was always an exciting night. “I think I’ll be remembered as a fighter who never shied away from anyone. On that night Kell was the better fighter and he won. Maybe it might have been a different story if it had been a couple of years earlier but it is what it is. He said: “In boxing there is always a winner and a loser and people know I gave them the fight they always wanted. Khan insisted he had “no regrets because everyone would have hated me for not taking that fight”. I’d trained hard, don’t get me wrong, but I didn’t have it in me. But deep down I wasn’t mentally prepared. I can’t walk away from this fight, so I’m going to go ahead with it. “But I couldn’t let anyone down, especially the fans. I was still pushing myself hard and that’s when it hit me: ‘Do you know what? I don’t have it left in me.’ Then my knees were hurting in training camp. It’s still sore now and I can’t lift it up much. “When I was in training camp I got injuries but I didn’t want to tell people because I didn’t want them to say: ‘Amir is making excuses.’ I tore my rotator cuff, my tendon split in half in my right arm. The two fighters made their peace with each other after the fight but Khan suggested on Monday that he knew long before the first bell that his career was about to end. Khan lost the final fight of his 40‑bout career in February when he was stopped by his bitter rival Kell Brook – who also announced his retirement this month. I’ve always been against it and I’ve always spoken the truth.” When people bring religion or racism into something I think it’s all bollocks. I’ve got a Jewish brother here, an Indian brother here and a Pakistani brother here. All nations should respect each other and be together.

“If another Asian had made those remarks, some other Asians may have taken it the wrong way and wanted to start a fight. “I’m glad I’m a fighter and I can pack a punch and have a little go if I have to,” Khan said from his home in Bolton. After the terrorist attacks in London in 2005, he chose to speak out and stress that his allegiance lay with Britain and remind people he had been born and raised in Bolton. Khan remembered how his own ethnicity, as a young British boxer with strong family roots in Pakistan, was often attacked. But you still have to take it easy on those things.” If Amir Khan has done it, being Asian and living on chapatis all his life and eating curries, we can do it. But if we see someone doing it, like if they’ve seen me do it, maybe that can inspire and motivate them. But not many Asians become sportsmen and women because we don’t have the diet. “But obviously I changed my way of living. If you put us against a lot of English fighters their diet is a lot better. It’s not the right diet to be a champion. We’re not supposed to be good sportsmen and women.

“Look, us Asians are not really meant to be fighters. Asians, when we can’t to a certain extent, give up. There are no Asian footballers but guess what they all say? ‘We won’t get picked because we’re Asian.’ I think that’s a fucking load of bullshit, really. We’re not going to be picked.’ It’s an excuse that all Asians use – that we’re never going to be picked. People used to say: ‘We are Muslim, we are Asian, we can’t make it in boxing. “It’s an amazing platform for them to see what I’ve done and that it’s possible for them to do the same and achieve what I’ve achieved.
