At 17, he became the youngest British winner of an Olympic medal when he captured silver at the 2004 Games in Athens.
Five years later, Amir Khan defeated Andreas Kotelnik to win the WBA light welterweight crown.
He was 22-years-old.
Khan defended his newly won title five times, beating such notables as Paulie Malagnaggi, Marcos Maidana, and Zab Judah, before losing it via a controversial decision to Lamont Peterson in 2011.
Nine months later, he attempted to win back a championship belt against Danny Garcia in Las Vegas, NV.
Khan started the fight fast. He cut Garcia, and appeared to be outboxing him until a thunderous left hook knocked his equilibrium sideways. He never recovered and was stopped in the fourth round. Khan had been knocked out before in 2008.
His chin has always been considered a flaw.
After the devastating knockout loss to Garcia, Khan hired Virgil Hunter, the molder of super middleweight champion Andre Ward. He wanted help with his defense.
Their collaboration has produced three straight victories. Khan was floored by Julio Diaz, but recovered to win by decision.
Khan’s most recent fight, a brutal stoppage of former WBA welterweight champion Luis Collazo, was his most impressive. Khan boxed circles around Collazo, punishing him for 12 rounds.
On December 13 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) faces former two-division champion Devon Alexander (26-2, 14 KOs), in what he readily admits is his most important fight.
"This is definitely the biggest fight of my career,” Khan told Kevin Francis of
www.Dailystar.uk.co. “It will determine who goes to the elite level and who has to start back over again."
Khan, 28, has been chasing after a fight with pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather for over a year. He was originally supposed to meet Alexander last December, but pulled out in hopes of landing the big lotto fight with Mayweather.
It didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean Khan has given up.
"Mayweather is the motivation for me,” said Khan. “He makes me work harder and now my main goal is to get past this fight with a win.
"If I defeat Alexander, it will take me on to bigger and better things. It would put me back into the mix with Floyd, and also Manny Pacquiao.
“This is a big fight for me," said Kahn. "I look at it as a make-or-break fight. It is certainly a statement fight for me in which it's all about winning and looking good."
The 27-year-old Alexander looked very sharp in defeating Jesus Soto Karras six months ago. He’s primed and ready to meet Khan.
"This is going to be an explosive fight,” Alexander told www.theBoltonnews.co.uk.
“It's an opportunity I have been waiting so long for and there are bound to be fireworks.
"I am ready for the fight now,” he said. "I was frustrated when it didn't happen last December but it is no big deal and I quickly moved on when it didn't.”
Alexander wasn’t overly impressed by Khan’s victory over Collazo.
"Khan’s Collazo win was not a surprise to me because Collazo is past his time,” Alexander said.
Khan is very aware of southpaw Alexander’s abilities.
“Alexander is quick and he has good movement,” said Khan. “He's a fast, skilled fighter like myself. It's going to be a game of chess to find out who is the bigger and more skilful fighter.
"I look at it as a make-or-break fight,” Khan said. “It is certainly a statement fight for me in which it's all about winning and looking good."
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