Boxing champion Amir Khan says he feared for his life when he was robbed at gunpoint in London.
The 35 year-old was leaving a restaurant in East London with his wife, Faryal Makhdoom, when two masked men stole his £72,000 watch.
Explaining the incident on Twitter he said: “Just had my watch taken off me at gun point in East London, Leyton.
“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.”
The former world champion has since said he believed he was going to die when he was confronted by the robbers.
Mr Khan first thought the masked men were friends playing a practical joke. But when the assailant put a gun to the boxer’s face, he thought: “This is the end; I’m going to die.
“I was in genuine fear for my life and the main thing that I was thinking about was my wife and kids,” Mr Khan told Mail Online.
“I thought I might never see them again.”
Though the boxer considered taking on his attacker Mr Khan said he put his family first, worrying that he and his wife could get killed in the fight.
He said: “I’m lucky to be alive and once the robbers fled, I just wanted to hug my wife and kids.
“The thought of my family stopped me from taking them on because if I had, I could be dead now.”
The 35 year-old said he believes he knows who orchestrated the robbery of his Franck Muller Vanguard Chronograph watch, and has informed the police.
He said the possible attacker is from East London and “sees himself as a gangster”.
“I’m sick of all this gangster stuff. That is not my world,” Mr Khan said. “I’m a hard-working family man who wants to earn good money and live a decent life. I didn’t deserve to be robbed like this; nobody does.”
Mr Khan said he did not speak to his attacker, calmly taking his watch off his wrist and handing it over.
The incident happened moments after the couple left a restaurant in Leyton where they had gone to break their Ramadan fast.
They both questioned how the assailants could know exactly when they would leave the restaurant.
Ms Makhdoom was left screaming after the attack as her husband comforted her.
She said: “To the selfish guys who pointed a gun at my husband’s head and risked everything, risked our lives all for a fricking watch, I say to you: Shame on you.
“How dare you pull that stunt on two parents all for a watch.”
Mr Khan also criticised the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, claiming that the city “is not safe anymore”.
He said: “Gun and knife crime is increasing in all parts of the city. It’s disgusting what has happened to London and what happened to me.”
The Metropolitan Police have said that an investigation has begun but no arrests have so far been made.
