Amir Khan has moved his family to Dubai after a harrowing gunpoint robbery in London.
The 38-year-old decided to relocate following the April 2022 attack, when armed robbers stole his £72,000 watch outside an East London restaurant.
Khan, his wife Faryal Makhdoom, and their three children, Lamaisah, Alayna and Muhammad Zaviyar now live more than 4,000 miles away.
The robbery occurred outside the Sahara Grill in Leyton, where a masked gunman confronted Khan.
The attacker ordered: “Take off the watch” while pointing a firearm at Khan’s face.
Dante Campbell and Ahmed Bana later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob and possession of imitation firearms.
Bana was sentenced to nine years and eight months, while Campbell was jailed seven years and nine months.
Police recovered and returned the stolen Franck Muller Vanguard Chronograph watch.
Khan has since spoken about feeling safer in Dubai.
He said: “I can leave my car door open, it’s just so much safer here.
“I think the law is much more strict, I think people like us need that.”
The former boxing world champion contrasted this with his experiences in the UK.
“I’ve been to cafes where fights break out, and before you know it, there’s a gang of people outside.
“I don’t need that in my life – I’m a retired fighter. There’s no point starting fights on the streets or getting into problems.”
This was not Amir Khan’s first brush with crime in Britain.
In 2012, he and his brother Haroon fought off six men who attempted to steal his £125,000 Range Rover. In 2017, he was involved in a violent road rage incident in Manchester. The 2022 robbery, however, was the final straw.
Khan recalled: “Then the gun crime happened, I just wanted to give the watch away and said, ‘There you go, what do you want? Do you want the watch? There you go, take it’.”
Despite relocating, Khan still has affection for Britain.
He said: “It’s just when you go out of town, it gets a little bit scary.
“You don’t know what can happen, you don’t know the area that well, you don’t know the people there.”
Khan retired in 2022 at 35 after losing to Kell Brook.
He remains grateful to British boxing fans.
“I thank all the fans, honestly. I’ve been boxing a very long time, literally all my life.
“When you retire, that’s when you realise you were a great champion for Great Britain. I put some great fights on television at home.”
Amir Khan remains one of Britain’s most celebrated boxers, but his priority is now his family’s safety.
