Amir Khan must choose between Kell Brook and Danny Garcia
After being knocked out by Canelo Alvarez, the fighter has to pick his next opponent carefully
British boxer Amir Khan has dismissed thoughts of retirement after he was beaten by Mexican Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas at the weekend.
Khan suffered the fourth defeat of his professional career after stepping up two weight divisions to fight "one of the most fearsome fighters on the planet", says Ben Dirs of the BBC.
Middleweight champion Alvarez, who had a 15lb weight advantage, won with a huge punch in the sixth round, ending the fight as Khan was taken to hospital before being given a clean bill of health.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Few people had expected the Bolton fighter to win, says Dirs, but he was "brave beyond belief and should not be sneered at".
However, he must now decide his next move. "Having spent the past two years being teased into thinking he was going to fight first Floyd Mayweather, then Manny Pacquiao, and consequently wishing some of the best years of his career away, this was maybe Khan's last pitch for greatness," adds Dirs.
"The good news for Khan, and British fight fans, is he can walk straight into a match with Kell Brook, the IBF welterweight champion and his bitter cross-Pennine rival."
Khan must "lower his poundage but not his sights", says Jeff Powell of the Daily Mail, who predicts a "world welterweight title revenge match for an earlier KO against undefeated Danny Garcia".
Garcia looks the most likely opponent, agrees Kevin Mitchell of The Guardian, partly because Khan and Brook "have a deep and long-running animus to settle first".
What is clear after his latest bout is that Khan only has "one or maybe a handful of fights left" and "has cause to wonder how much more his vulnerable chin and outsized heart can take in this sport".
He was brave to take the fight against Alvarez, says Gareth A Davies of the Daily Telegraph, but it may have been a costly gamble.
"Khan can walk away with his head held high, but the lasting effects on him and his punch resistance will only be known when he boxes again," he warns.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - December 22, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - the long and short of it, trigger finger, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
The Decathlon: ten things from the world of sport on 23 April
Daily Briefing Celtic mourn ‘greatest ever captain’ McNeill and Joshua’s next opponent will be named in the coming days
By The Week Staff Published
-
Mayweather vs Pacquiao 2: Could the rematch be back on?
In Depth Promoter claims fight is 75 per cent certain after Pacquiao returns to the ring after 18 months and Mayweather turns up to watch
By The Week Staff Last updated