Amir Khan has revealed he was robbed of his watch at gunpoint while on a night out in London with his wife.
The former boxing world champion was in Leyton in east London when he claims to have been approached by two men, one of whom demanded he hand over his watch while holding a gun to his head.
Khan confirmed both he and wife Faryal Makhdoom were safe. "Just had my watch taken off me at gun point in East London, Leyton," he tweeted. "I crossed the road with Faryal, luckily she was few steps behind me. Two men ran to me, he asked for my watch whist having a gun pointed in my face. The main thing is we’re both safe."
Khan offered no further details in his post just before 10.30pm on Monday. The 35-year-old had been in Manchester at the weekend to watch rising star Conor Benn stop Chris van Heerden in the second round.
Khan stepped through the ropes after the fight and was called out by the undefeated son of a legend who has now won 21 fights as a professional. Khan was reluctant to engage with Benn, however, with a future fight between the pair all but ruled out.
Khan, the former WBA and IBF light-welterweight champion, was beaten by fellow Briton Kell Brook via a sixth-round stoppage in Manchester in February. That was the sixth defeat of a professional career featuring 34 wins, 21 by knockout, and he remains likely to retire.
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For his part, Benn was not surprised at Khan's reluctance to engage. "I saw a few articles from him, saying he fancies the fight with me so I thought we would get him in the ring and if he said, 'Yeah, I fancy it,’ it would be a done deal," he said.
"But he didn’t, so we know that’s not the case. I can’t blame him because if I was him I wouldn’t fancy it. Who needs me in their life? It’s fine and I’m on a different trajectory. He’s a former world champion, look what he’s achieved in the sport of boxing, it’s sad he got booed, but it is what it is."
