Amir Khan is desperate to atone for his defeat to Terence Crawford, after confessing: “I can’t live with it.”
The two-time world champion says being branded a quitter , because his corner threw in the towel when Crawford hit him with a low blow, hurt him deeply.
Khan’s defeat at Madison Square Garden in April effectively ended his chances of another big fight in the US and tarnished his warrior reputation. He makes a quick return against Neeraj Goyat, in Jeddah on July 12, and is motivated to get that painful loss out of his system.
“That’s why I took this fight so quickly, I want to erase that memory,” said Khan. “That fight, I just can’t live with it. It did upset me. I’m one of those guys who, if I get knocked down, I get back up. I fight with my heart.
“Reading the comments and stuff about me afterwards, that’s why I had to get this fight, to fight again as soon as possible. If that fight had not gone the way it did, I’d never have taken this fight. I want to erase that fight from my memory, move forward, get back to winning ways, and just keep busy.”
Virgil Hunter, Khan’s trainer for the Crawford fight, pulled him out, and the Brit understands he was protecting him, as much as his pride was hurt at the time.
Khan, 32, admits he might not have been able to fight again so quickly if he had soldiered on and taken a beating from Crawford.
“I spoke to Virgil a few times at length and he explained to me that there’s always another day,” said the former unified light-welterweight king. “I’m getting older now and when I got hit with that (low) shot, I could feel my energy go. It took a lot of energy out of me and I was in pain as well.
“I wasn’t going to be too brave and go in there and get knocked out in the next round. I thought, ‘I’m just going to walk away’, and that’s what I did. There’s always another day.
“Now I can go straight into another fight, hopefully erase the Crawford one, and keep moving forward.”
Khan has shown no hangover from the Crawford loss in camp, although training during his first couple of days in Saudi Arabia has been disrupted while he attends media events and photo opportunities. The guy is earning every penny of the reported £7million he is being paid by the Saudis and is relaxed by all the demands on him.
“It’s not a problem and I’m here to promote boxing in Saudi Arabia,” he added. “I’m still training hard and want to put on a show for everyone.”
* Amir Khan versus Neeraj Goyat is exclusively live on Channel 5 and the undercard on 5Spike on Friday, July 12.
