Amir Khan may have been in a boxing ring for the final time on Saturday, when he was pretty handily beaten by Kell Brook in a huge grudge match in Manchester, England, stopped in round six.
The 35-year-old Khan (34-6, 21 KO) admitted post-fight that he’ll speak with his family and that he’s considering retirement, though he made zero excuses and gave Brook full credit for the win, and made sure to steer anyone away from putting any blame on trainer Brian McIntyre and their team.
Here’s what Khan had to say at the post-fight presser.
On Brook’s performance
“We knew he had power, and obviously you could see he came in, trained, he was ready. No excuses, the better man won. He boxed out of his skin, quite honestly, I have to say. I never expected that from him. I’ve seen him fight before and he put on a great performance today. No disrespect to him, he came out to win.”
On his preparation and taking responsibility for the loss
“The training camp I had for the fight was the best training. I don’t want to have anyone blame them, they did everything they needed to. I put my hand up and take full fault. It was me that was performing in there. We didn’t leave any stone unturned, we did everything in training camp. They pushed me so hard. No one can ever say it was BoMac or the team. It was just me that didn’t perform on the night the right way.”
On whether or not that was his final fight
“I’ve got to sit down with my family. I think it could be. The first time I felt like this was when I fought against Bud Crawford. When you feel like you just can’t get in the groove — I thought maybe it was because (Crawford) was just that good. Obviously the Billy Dib happened, but today as well. I tried to get in the groove and just couldn’t get in the groove. Kell came trained, he came ready. And he was brilliant. But it’s something to think about, definitely.
“I’ve always said I don’t want boxing to retire me, I want to retire from boxing before it does that. … I mean, I showed a big heart, took some big shots today. But too much of that can sometimes be harmful in the future. So I’ll sit down with my family and see where we go from here. Credit goes to Kell, he put on a great performance today.”
On showing heart in the fight
“I might not be the best at taking the shots, but it’s just one of them things. I’ve had a great career, man, honestly. Winning fights, losing fights, being knocked down, getting back up. Kell today was strong, he hit me with everything that can hit. I didn’t expect that from him, especially making 149. I thought he was going to be a little bit weak, but he was really strong.
“I have to say thank you to BoMac for that. The work we did in camp, they had me solid, they had me strong. They made sure my legs were solid. I got hit with some big shots. Obviously I was hurt at times. I got through it with conditioning.”
On whether it was a “what if” fight
“Honestly, my boxing career, I did more than I ever expected. Maybe I peaked too early in my career. At 17 I was in the Olympics, I won a world title at 21, 22. I’m 35 now! I’ve been in the game a very long time, I’m an old man now. I want to spend time with my kids, my family. I’m going to enjoy the money, man, I’m going to enjoy myself. I made the paychecks but I want to make sure I enjoy that. I want to be there for my family and my kids. I want to take them to school and be that father.
“Me and Kell have never looked eye-to-eye, but I’m not a bad person, I’m a family man. Obviously there were words thrown back and forth, nothing personal, it made the fight exciting. But end of the day we’re family men and I’m glad we ended up putting on a great performance for you guys.”