Amir Khan determined to end career on a high

Amir Khan

FOUR months after facing snakes and spiders in an Australian jungle, Amir Khan returns to the limelight in a more comfortable arena determined to end his boxing career on a high.

Khan, a former world champion and an Olympic silver medallist at the 2004 Games, will be back in the ring for the first time since being beaten by Saul โ€˜Caneloโ€™ Alvarez in May 2016 when he meets Canadian Phil Lo Greco in Liverpool on Saturday night.

In his time away from the sport, Khan was a contestant on the reality television series โ€˜Iโ€™m A Celebrityโ€ฆGet Me Out Of Here!โ€™, where the general public saw him face his phobias.


Those who witness Khan at the Echo Arena this weekend will see a man more in his element after he agreed a three-fight deal with promoters Matchroom shortly after leaving the jungle.

โ€œIt does feel back to business again, and this is the business I love doing,โ€ the 31-year-old told Press Association Sport.

โ€œBoxingโ€™s something Iโ€™ve been doing all my life. Itโ€™s great to be in a position now where I can make it back to the top again.

โ€œI used to be sat ringside watching at fights and be missing the sport thinking, โ€˜Wow, I want to be back in the ring againโ€™. I want to have my name lit up, big posters up of me, have fans want to see me and cheer me on. ย I did miss that.

amir khan v phil lo greco weigh-in โ€“ liverpool hilton hotel
Amir Khan, right, and Phil Lo Greco during the weigh-in (Barrington Coombs/PA)

โ€œThat was one reason I wanted to come back and finish off with a big bang. I could not finish off with a loss in my career, I have to finish off with a few good wins and then call it a day.

โ€œIโ€™m one of the lucky fighters out there โ€“ financially I didnโ€™t have to come back but Iโ€™ve chosen to because my body feels in good shape, I still feel in my prime.

โ€œIโ€™ve been absent for such a long time, itโ€™s given me a wake-up call to say, โ€˜I need to back in the ring again, fighting again, be back in the gym again, get back in shape again and make people proudโ€™.โ€

His opponent Lo Greco is banking on Khanโ€™s hiatus being costly when they meet in the ring.

The Canadian has also goaded the Bolton-based fighter by suggesting he still has mental scars from the way Alvarez brutally knocked him out in 2016 .

โ€œWhile Amir was having a lot of success, I was inactive,โ€ Lo Greco said.

โ€œIโ€™ve been a pro since 2006 Iโ€™ve had a total of six, seven years of inactivity; it really, really, really puts a lot of hurt in your career when youโ€™re inactive.

โ€œEspecially in his last fight, the way it ended, I know itโ€™s been on his mind for a long time.

โ€œA lot of athletes have a tendency to say, โ€˜Iโ€™ve got one more in meโ€™ โ€“ from Sugar Ray Leonard to Muhammad Ali to other good fighters that push the envelope.โ€

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