Former boxing world champion Amir Khan surprises children at boxing gym

Former boxer Amir Khan gave a pleasant surprise to his young fans after he turned up at the gym to meet them in Bolton recently.

Khan, who was a boxing world champion, went to the Amir Khan Academy which surprised many training youngsters. He interacted with them, signed autographs, took pictures and imparted some of his wisdom and knowledge about the field.

The Bolton-origin boxing star has been living in Dubai and came back to the country to attend his cousin Abdul Khan’s match at the University of Bolton Stadium which counted as his seventh win.

Khan’s boxing academy is associated with Round4Round, which is a community boxing project that aims to get young talents off the streets and into the gym, along with education on knife crime included.

Nasir Akram, from Round4Round, said, “Amir rang me at 10.15am and I rang Shiraz and Ash who jumped on a conference call to coordinate activities for the next few hours and agree to surprise all.

“We were delighted but didn’t want to raise expectations in case he had a cancellation where the kids would be heartbroken.

“The parents and kids were amazed and couldn’t believe their eyes with all rushing to get a picture, autograph and one kid Zain taking his shirt off for an autoraph.”

When asked about the gym, he added, “This gives me a feel for a world class gym in my hometown to the standards I delivered in my career.

“Coming back and seeing the kids at the gym brought back great memories and optimism that the future of boxing is bright in Bolton.

“I am impressed by the quick turnaround by the Round4Round team in bringing to life my vision and legacy for my beloved Bolton.”

Khan’s visit was a great motivation-booster for the young hopefuls who got to finally meet their idol.