Khan: I’m at the peak of my career

As 31-year-old fighter Amir Khan closes in on his next fight against Samuel Vargas on September 8, Khan tells Sky Sports he’s been training extremely hard, working even harder than young up-and-comers who should be more hungry than he is at this point.

“I still feel strong, I was running against the young 23-year-olds (in training camp), then sparring against 25-year-olds who are at the peak of their career - and I was out boxing them,” said Khan.

“I was doing so well, so I was thinking to myself ‘age is just a number for me’. I work harder than most young fighters.”

Khan says after this second return bout coming off of his long layoff that he’ll be contending for a world title either later this year or early next year. That, of course, is contingent on him beating Vargas first, though, which he should do if all goes according to plan.

“It’s how you look after your body. In training camp I worked hard, I never cheat myself. At 31, I’m at the peak of my career.”

But despite all of Khan’s talk about still being fit and training hard, one has to wonder how bad he really wants to test himself against the best out there. After nearly two full years out of the ring after getting knocked out by Canelo Alvarez, Khan ended up signing a three-fight deal with Matchroom boxing. And with this second fight against what is presumed to be an overmatched opponent, just like his first, is Khan really going to jump back into the deep end for the third?

There’s still plenty of talk about a potential Khan-Brook fight — just as there’s been for many years now — but that fight still doesn’t seem to be any closer than it ever has been, despite both fighters now being aligned with Eddie Hearn. Khan has been insistent that if he fights Brook it’ll have to be at 147, and it’s been pretty well documented that Brook just has a terrible time making that weight at this point — hence his move up to junior middleweight. That’s a significant roadblock which may not be overcome.

So assuming that we don’t hold our breaths and Khan ends up looking elsewhere for a fight, who would you most like to see him in the ring against?