Former world champion Amir Khan detailed the worst time in his life as he suffered from injury, scams, and marriage problems.
Khan admits to making many mistakes as he spent two years out of the ring before launching a comeback.
Speaking to Gary Neville, the Bolton man went over his troubles, which his wife Faryal helped him conquer after a falling out.
The retired 35-year-old, who won a silver medal for Great Britain when winning several bouts at the 2004 Athens Olympics as a teenager, was as open as ever as to what transpired.
Amir Khan’s mental health problems
“Mental health is a very big thing. It’s good that people start talking about it. Mental health problems have happened to the best of us, like Tyson Fury and other fighters,” Khan told The Overlap.
“I’ve had massive [mental health] problems. Back in 2016, I had a big fallout with my wife. I didn’t box. I had two years out of the ring and put on weight.
“You know, I was not happy with myself. I don’t know what it was.”
Injuries
On a troublesome ailment to his boxing tools, he added: “I had a hand operation. I went back to training, and it was still hurting me.
“Then, I had to get another operation and another one. I had three operations on it before it was alright.
“I really thought that I was never going to fight again. That put me on a downer, know that I’m at the peak of my career, but I can’t fight.”
Getting his body prepared for a grudge fight with fellow boxer Kell Brook was only the start. Khan had to get mentally right after being scammed out of millions.
Investments
At that time, I made some silly investments that were not paying me back. I’m thinking, how am I going to live my life?
“I lost five million [pounds] through different investments at the same time as my hand operation. So you can imagine the spiral I was heading into. I’d lost a lot of money and couldn’t box because of my hand.
“I built a wedding hall in Bolton, which cost around twelve million. Someone took advantage of me while I was boxing and in training camp.
“They caught me at a time when I kept saying yes to everything. What helped me was getting my wife involved as she started to scrutinize every little detail.
“I had fallen out with everyone at that time. I didn’t have my family around me, no manager, and no one to support me.”
Amir Khan’s Career
It’s a far cry from Khan’s career in the late 2000s. He left England for the United States and significantly raised his profile.
Wins over Marcos Maidana and Zab Judah had Khan linked to fights with Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather in the mid-2010s.
Both never transpired, but Khan did make a bumper payday at the end of his career with a cashout fight against Brook.
He also has a TV show on a UK network giving an insight into his personal family life.
It’s not all doom and gloom for Amir Khan.
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