Khan ends feud to hunt title No 3

AMIR KHAN has struck a truce with his family and Anthony Joshua and re-focused on trying to win his third world title early next year. Khan the champion boxer had morphed into Amir the celebrity hounded by scandal and seemingly en route to oblivion. But the 30-year-old Bolton fighter has listened to the alarm bells and acted to clear up the chaos in his life. His father and former manager, Shah, was by his side for the first time since the family feud became public as they sat in the T-Mobile Arena last Saturday to see Floyd Mayweather beat up Conor McGregor. A few days earlier Khan took a telephone call from world heavyweight champion Joshua, who had been falsely accused on social media of having an affair with Khan’s wife, Faryal. She had been at the centre of a family rift partly driven by her less-than-strict interpretation of a Muslim woman’s lifestyle. Khan has rebuilt bridges with his father, mother and sisters and said: ‘The family is always there for you. I’m back to basics — with those who helped all the way to world titles. The people really looking out for you.’ Of the lurid internet gossip about his wife and Joshua he said: ‘He rang me. I told him everything was cool. Everything was a misunderstanding and we just put a bag over it. ‘He said, “I want to be able to come up and shake your hand, champ”. I said we want to keep the respect and love.’ The focus, he insisted, is back on boxing as he prepares to return to trainer Virgil Hunter’s gym near Oakland, California. ‘I won’t rest until I win another world title,’ said the former world light-welterweight champion. ‘People have said I’m finished but it never crossed my mind that I should quit. ‘I’ve just seen Floyd Mayweather at 40 go to 50-0 in his career. ‘It’s helped me realise that I need to get rid of distractions. The plan is to fight in November or December against a decent opponent, perhaps in England. ‘Then challenge one of the welterweight world champions in the New Year. People talk up Keith Thurman but I don’t see him as that special even though he’s a big puncher.’ Khan also hankers after revenge matches against two of the current belt holders who beat him: Danny Garcia, who stopped him, and Lamont Peterson, who was caught having taken steroids before the night he took one of Khan’s world titles. ‘I would love to fight Danny and/or Peterson again,’ he said. Khan would also relish facing great new American hope Errol Spence Jr, who recently relieved another Brit, Kell Brook, of his world title in Sheffield.