Boxer Amir Khan: Vijender needs to win a big title to get a fight with me

British-Pakistani boxer Amir Khan has an impressive resume as both an amateur and a professional in a 14-year-long career. At 17, he won a silver medal at the Athens Olympics, becoming the youngest Briton to win a boxing medal at the Olympics. After turning professional, he became one of the youngest world champions ever, winning the WBA Light-Welterweight World Championship at 22 and adding the IBF World Title to it two years later.The two-time world champion now dons a new hat, that of a boxing promoter. He is an investor in a newly-started franchise-based boxing league launched in India. It is in this capacity that he is currently in Delhi, where he speaks to DT about the need for India and Pakistan to play more sports together, what Vijender Singh needs to do to land a fight with him, and how having multiple 'world champions' in boxing can be frustrating. Excerpts:
This isn’t your first visit to Delhi. You say you are familiar with the city. What keeps bringing you here?
Delhi is a beautiful place, one of my favourite cities in the world. What I like about Delhi is how similar it is to Lahore. Every time I come here, I see glimpses of Lahore and that makes me happy because I have some great memories of Lahore. I have friends in Delhi too now, so it’s always good coming back. The good thing is that every time I come here, the city seems changed – for the better – but it does so without letting go of its history and character.

Talking about history, you discovered that Delhi’s history has a connection with your wife’s family...
Yes, my wife is a Mughal. Her mother's family descends from the Mughal dynasty. When I was at Humayun’s Tomb, I found out how much of Delhi was built by the Mughals. And people here told me all the monuments and cities that they have built. She has never been here, seen all this - her family heritage. I think the next time I come to India, I will bring her along.

Boxing in India has always been more about amateur boxing - vying for medals in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, etc. Professional boxing isn’t very popular here. You think that will be a hurdle for your league in gaining a foothold in India?
What we are doing here, boxing as a team sport, is something that has never been done before. And we made it a team format because that appeals to India more. People support teams more than individuals because team sports have earned us medals and glory. And we hope it will be successful in India, because when it does, we will take it globally.
But the acceptance for professional boxing isn’t high in India. When Vijender turned pro, there were some who criticized him for ‘turning his back on the nation’ and fighting for personal glory.
I don't understand that, honestly. I was born in Great Britain, I won my Olympic medal for Britain, but people in Pakistan love me. They see me as one of their own, as if I won a medal for them. Now, Vijender is completely Indian, whether he is fighting as an amateur or a professional. He is representing India in every fight. When he wins, all Indians should be happy for him. In the world, they see him as an Indian fighter. If he wins an Asian title, it’s good for Indian boxing and Indian fans should be happy and supportive about it because he is keeping their name up.
KNOCKOUT PUNCH? Amir Khan poses for us at the Humayun's Tomb (BCCL/ Ranjit Kumar)
So will we see a fight between you and Vijender anytime soon?
Look, I never fear from anyone. I'm normally the one that people fear to fight. Vijender has a long way to go yet and he needs to win a big title at least before a fight can happen. You have to remember, the titles he is winning at the moment are small titles (he is the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight Champion). I have won the biggest titles - the world titles, be it WBA, WBC, or the IBF. I think it should be motivation for Vijender to win world titles and then, hopefully, we can get a fight. And what a fight it would be – an Indian against a British-Pakistani. India vs Pakistan in boxing, just like the cricket match (the Champions Trophy final).

And would the result be the same here too?
100%! I'm very confident. I would never say something that is not going to happen. So, 100%, I will win that fight if and when it happens.
But sports between India and Pakistan have been on hold now, because of how the relations between the two countries are politically. You don’t see the same objections being raised to an Indo-Pak boxing fight?
When I'm walking the streets here in Delhi, a lot of Indian fans come to me and say, 'It's lovely to have you here’. I don't see a problem between Pakistan and India, at least not for the people. All this nonsense you hear in the media about enmity and hatred, I don't believe any of it. There are naïve people who think that the two countries shouldn't interact. My opinion is that we should all work together, trade together, and play sports together because that is only going to make us better. You might not like your neighbours but that doesn't mean you go about killing them, and that applies to both the sides. Innocent people are getting killed on both sides and that’s not helping anyone. Why sports is important here is because it’s the best way to get everyone together and to get one to respect the other side. This is the only way how things will move forward.
What makes boxing so different from other sports is that it has not one, but four global governing bodies. At any time, in any weight division, there are four world champions, and sometimes an interim champion and a silver champion and Super Champion on top of those. Don’t you think having multiple world champions now dilutes the achievement as compared to the days of Mohammad Ali and others, who were undisputed world champions?
(Laughs) Yeah man! When I was the champion, I unified two belts and I wanted to fight for the undisputed title and I couldn't because the opponent didn’t want to fight me. There is a lot of politics in the sport and at the end of the day, you just can’t make these fights happen. Many have tried to unify all titles but it never pans out. It frustrates me; it frustrates everybody, but what can you do? There are four governing bodies and you have to respect them all. But at the same time, it is good for boxers too. That's because more fighters have a shot to be at the top, more title fights, more champions and more boxers tasting success.