Khan hits out at gong snub
AMIR KHAN wants recognition from the Queen for his achievements in the ring.
The 2004 Olympic silver medallist and former world light-welterweight champion has been left frustrated not to be given an honour.
Sir Henry Cooper is the only British fighter to be knighted but boxers such as Anthony Joshua and Carl Froch have been given MBEs.
Khan has been overlooked, though, and is not happy.
He said: “It would mean the world to me and my family. I feel like I deserve it.
“I was the youngest British Olympian in boxing.
“In a way, I might have saved amateur boxing in the UK.
“We had to get a medal to keep the funding and I got that as a teenager.
“If I didn’t win that the funding for the next eight years would not have been there. I won world titles. I became a big name in America and flew the British flag.
“My family is from Pakistan but I’m proud to be British.”
Khan is also involved in charity work. He opened a youth centre at his Bolton gym, helped victims of the Cumbria floods in 2015 and helped build an orphanage in Gambia.
This week he is helping promote Ultimate Boxxer, as it hosts its sixth event tonight with up-and-coming heavyweights competing at Planet Ice Arena in Manchester.
The eight-man tournament is a knockout-based competition fought over three rounds on the same night. ● ULTIMATE BOXXER is live on BT Sport 1 and the BT Sport YouTube Channel at 8pm tonight. For more information go to www.ultimate boxxer.com