Khan hits back at Froch and vows to bounce back

Amir Khan has come out fighting against the snipers and rejected the idea of retirement following his crushing fourth-round KO by new unified RING junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia.

The badly-beaten British star, who was dropped three times by Garcia on Saturday night, is in a defiant mood, telling his outspoken critics, especially countryman Carl Froch, to keep their noses out of his business.

During an interview with the BBC on Sunday, IBF super middleweight holder Froch (29-2 21 KOs) controversially suggested he would quit boxing if ever knocked out in the fashion Khan (26-3, 18 KOs) had been at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Khan, though, reckons the 35-year-old from Nottingham needs to button it.

“Carl has his own opinions and I think he should keep his opinions to himself,” said Bolton’s former two-weight titleholder. “A lot of people come out the woodwork and say a lot of things. But they don’t know me. I know what I am and I know that I will come back even stronger from this.

“I am happy with the way my career is going – yes, I’ve made some mistakes and you have to pay for them. That’s boxing. One punch, you can lose the fight. I now have to go back to the drawing board and not make these mistakes again. But I’m still only 25; a lot of people forget that.”

And in a statement on his official website, Khan again promised to recover from the huge setback before offering his congratulations to his still-undefeated conqueror Garcia (23-0, 16 KOs). He also hinted he is unfinished at junior welterweight despite calls for him to move up.

“Well done to Danny Garcia on his performance,” he said. “But I promise that I'll bounce back stronger than ever as I look to regain my spot at the top of the 140-pound division. Many fighters down the years have bounced back from defeat to prove their greatness and that's exactly what I intend to do.”

Shah Khan is equally certain his son will carry on, claiming the Englishman's box-office pull in Las Vegas is as strong as ever.

“Absolutely, he’ll be back,” said Khan Sr. “You saw the crowd here at Mandalay Bay. Everyone was behind Amir. They love him here. There’s no reason why he won’t come back.”

Click here to read Khan’s full statement.