Amir Khan
Khan is the youngest British Olympic boxing medalist, winning silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics, at the age of 17.He is also one of the youngest ever British world champions, winning the WBA light-welterweight title at the age of 22. The International Business Times ranked him the 8th best pound-for-pound boxer in 2011,and he is currently ranked the 12th best pound-for-pound boxer by BoxRec.
As an amateur, he scored notable wins over two-time Olympic gold medalist Mario Kindelán and future world champion Victor Ortiz. As a professional, Khan holds notable wins over nine world champions, including Andreas Kotelnik, Marcos Maidana, Julio Díaz, Luis Collazo, Chris Algieri, Paulie Malignaggi, Devon Alexander, Marco Antonio Barrera , and Zab Judah
Early life
Khan was born and raised in Bolton, Greater Manchester. He belongs to a Punjabi Rajput family with roots in Matore village of Kahuta Tehsil, located in Rawalpindi district of the Punjab, Pakistan.He was educated at Smithills School in Bolton,and Bolton Community College. Khan is Muslim,[and a member of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order,[ along with being an active supporter of the Muslim Writers Awards.Khan has two sisters and one brother, Haroon "Harry" Khan, an undefeated professional boxer. He is the first cousin of English cricketer Sajid Mahmood, related through a paternal grandfather, Lal Khan Janjua, who moved to England after being discharged from the Pakistan Army.
Amateur career
Khan began to box competitively at the age of 11, with early honours including three English school titles, three junior ABA titles, and gold at the 2003 Junior Olympics. In early 2004 he won a gold medal at the European Student Championships in Lithuania, and in South Korea several months later he won world junior lightweight title after fighting five times in seven days. One of his notable early amateur fights was against Victor Ortíz, whom he defeated in a second round stoppage. Overall, he compiled an amateur record of 101–9.2004 Olympic Games
Khan qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics by finishing in first place at the 1st AIBA European 2004 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He was Britain's sole representative in boxing at the Athens Games, winning a silver medal at the age of 17 in the lightweight boxing category. He was Britain's youngest Olympic boxer since Colin Jones in 1976. He lost in the final to Mario Kindelan, the Cuban who had also beaten him several months earlier in the pre-Olympic match-ups in Greece. In 2005 he avenged the two losses by beating the 34-year-old Kindelan in his last amateur fight.Highlights
- 2003 – Won a gold medal at the AAU Junior Olympic Games.
- 2004 – Won a gold medal at the European Student Championships and the World Junior Championships.
- 2004 – Won the Strandja Cup to qualify for the Olympics in Athens
- 2004 – Won an amateur match against Victor Ortíz, who was stopped in the second round.
- 2004 – Won a silver medal at the Olympics, beating Marios Kaperonis, Dimitar Shtilianov, Jong Sub Baik and Serik Yeleuov. He lost to Mario Kindelan in the final.
- 2005 – Beat Craig Watson on points in the ABA Championships.
- 2005 – Won the last match of his amateur career beating Mario Kindelan 19–13 at the Reebok Stadium.
