Amir Khan is no stranger when it comes to boosting his stock even if he is coming from a loss. Just last month, the Bolton fighter suffered a sixth-round TKO loss to Terence Crawford at the Madison Square Garden in New York City. Even with that controversial loss, the 32-year-old pug believes he is still a cut above the rest.
Retirement has been suggested but the British professional boxer would hear nothing of it. He believes that he still has plenty more to give and feels he is still up there among the top names in the world of boxing. In fact, Khan believes he is better than Manny Pacquiao, Danny Garcia, and Keith Thurman.
“In the fight, I was still there. He was technically a very good fighter and I did find it quite hard to get to him. But I still think, maybe not against a Crawford ... but I still feel I’m better than the guys like Danny Garcia, Lamont Peterson, Keith Thurman, Manny Pacquiao. Those fights could be big still," said Khan to The National.
Although there was a controversial low blow tied up to Crawford's win, not too many critics believed Khan had what it takes to pull off a win at the time. It was as most had expected, a knockout although not a clean one in the eyes of many. Regardless, a loss is a loss and Khan will need to work his way back into the rankings.
His claim of being better than Pacquiao, Garcia or Thurman is likely to be ridiculed by most. In fact, some may even think he got too many punches to the head. At 32 years old, the good news is that the former boxing champion still has the time to resurrect a seemingly erratic career. It was his second big loss in the ring, the other being another thunderous knockout at the hands of Canelo Alvarez in May 2016.
“I’m only 32, although this is the last chapter of my career. I want to fight maybe one or two more times and then maybe call it a day. It just depends what’s out there for me," Khan said in a report from Boxingscene.com.
Ironically, the three boxers Khan mentioned are currently in a mix. Pacquiao is choosing between Garcia and Thurman with the latter believed to be in the lead. Garcia did have an impressive win over Adrian Granados although it remains to be seen if that was enough to capture the attention of Team Pacquiao.
