Some posh wordy middle-aged fat f-ck writer called Tom Richmond has written yet another masturbating article over "extraordinary Amir Khan" today in yorkshire evening post. Thought i might share some highlights with you guys.
Got all the same insightful Khan comments as usual: "I'm proud to be British and muslim", "i can be a world champion by next year, i want to be the best like Muhammad Ali" (loved the following quote: "it'll be tough yeah, but i already train loads")
Funny how tom richmond is another of these old newspaper writers who sell Khan even though the only other boxers name they ever can ever conjure up is Muhammad Ali. Id love to have a banter with him & the media-shill crew about specific Ali fights, or better yet Larry Holmes or Marvin Hagler or Bob Foster or Wilfredo Benitez.
This geezer also says about Khans new (cash in/ghost written)book "compulsive reading not only for boxing fans but political leaders and others grappling with the future of multi-culturism" . enough said.
Also writes how he wonders how Khan and the 7/7 bombers could all grow up in the North in muslim familys but take such different paths? Thats like me wondering how i could grow up in Yorkshire yet not take the same path as Peter f-ckin Sutcliffe.
Oh yeah he also says Khan has been "linked romanticlly to a string of glamorous women"? Thats the first i've heard of it, not that i read tabloids but anyways...
Is it just sour old Overhand or is all of this shit kind of excessive for an 8-0 pro whos yet to advance past featherweight journeymen with zero knockouts?
YORKSHIRE EVENING POST- LAUGHABLE AMIR KHAN ARTICLE
Yeah I live in Leicester but for some strange reason I have never played Football for England or advertised crisps on TV like Garry Spiniker and his skin colour is the same as mine.Also writes how he wonders how Khan and the 7/7 bombers could all grow up in the North in muslim familys but take such different paths? Thats like me wondering how i could grow up in Yorkshire yet not take the same path as Peter f-ckin Sutcliffe.
I also went to Loughborough University and yet not once have I been selected for the Olympics despite several other people who happen to have the same skin colour as I who also studied there have been to a number of them.
What the fudge is goimg on???????
How bizzare.
Looks like it's time for The X-Files made a comeback.
Amir Khan is more than a precocious boxer. He has been dubbed a role model for Muslim youth.
Tom Richmond talks to the 19-year-old about this extraordinary dual role – and its Yorkshire origins.
AMIR KHAN pulls no punches. "I'm proud to be British and a Muslim," he declares.
Such forthrightness may surprise many, given the religious strains that have become so evident following the war on terror, and which have been further fuelled by the furore over whether Muslim women should wear veils.
But then Amir Khan is no ordinary teenager. At 19, the young lightweight boxer is not just an Olympic silver medallist. He is also the poster boy for multi-culturalism in this country.
He dedicated his first victory as a professional to the victims of the July 7 bombings, he fasts in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, even when a fight is approaching, and says a silent prayer whenever he steps into the ring.
He still occasionally works on the till at a relative's curry house – his disciplinarian parents want to keep him grounded and close to his Northern roots.
And when he met the Queen, she told him that she watched his fights and admires his efforts to encourage greater integration.
With all the innocence of youth, Khan slips into the conversation that he can be a world champion by this time next year. "That's my goal. I want my name up their in lights. I want to be the best, like Muhammad Ali," he says, at a speed matched only by his lightning-quick punches.
"It will be tough, yeah, I've got to work hard. But I already train loads. And I want to give something back – I want to make the whole country proud and show that Muslims can succeed if they have the right attitude.
"When people look at Muslims, they think negative things. When they look at me, people respond positively. I want to be a role model for all."
Khan's rise to stardom can be traced back to 1963 when his grandfather, Lall, took the then momentous decision to leave behind village life near Rawalpindi, Pakistan, for a new future in Britain.
Unable to speak a word of English, his first job was picking potatoes near Bradford before he eventually found work in the Lancashire cotton mills. He died before his superstar grandson was born, but he will always be Amir Khan's hero.
"It must have been tough.... harder than anything that I can do. He couldn't speak the language – the culture was all different – but he managed," says the boxer, who often seeks inspiration from old photos of his grandfather in a family album.
"Education was important to my grandparents. Grandad had travelled in the army and seen how basic the schooling was. He worked it out that, if his kids had any chance of becoming important people in some way, they must first speak English. I'm proud of him."
Khan is quick to knock down suggestions that his views are political. "I'm just an ordinary lad, remember."
However, his newly published bestseller, Amir Khan: A Boy From Bolton, should be compulsive reading, not only for boxing fans, but for political leaders and others grappling with the future of multi-culturalism.
As the boxer says himself, this book is not an autobiography. He regards the book as the first chapter of a remarkable life.
He was the same age as Hasib Hussain, one of the July 7 suicide bombers from West Yorkshire who killed 56 innocent commuters, and injured hundreds more, in London just two days before the boxer's pro debut.
The contrast couldn't be greater. Khan is a hero to many, while the 7/7 terrorists continue to be reviled. Yet, given that both young men grew up in the North in stable Muslim families, you have to wonder how they came to live such different lives.
Khan's theory is straightforward. He admits that he was a hyper-active, tearaway youngster who was always getting into scuffles – "I didn't care what size they were; it was all the same to me" – until he was frog-marched one day to the local boxing gym by his exasperated father, Shah.
"I was eight. Mum and dad were obviously concerned. They needed to channel my energy in a positive way. I was a good kid. I knew the difference between right and wrong. But I had a reputation. Looking back, it was the best decision that my family ever made.
"Instead of being on the streets and getting in trouble, I was down the boxing gym. It was in the basement of an old factory. The ring was disgusting, blood all over the canvas and the smell – horrible. But I felt at home.
"Because I was the youngest and smallest, I sparred with much bigger lads. But I didn't care. I just hit them back, sorted them out in the ring."
This is the never-say-die attitude that has so endeared Khan to legions of boxing fans around the world.
Yet the young boxer would still be unknown had he not won his battle with the Sheffield-based Amateur Boxing Association over his claim to participate in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. In spite of an impeccable schoolboy record, coach Terry Edwards and others were unconvinced that a raw 17-year-old could be a genuine medal contender.
Khan had no such doubts. "It wasn't arrogance, it was confidence in my abilities. As a country, we don't give people a chance. All I wanted to do was box for Britain. But they weren't sure, even when the United States offered me the chance to fight for them. But there was no chance I was turning my back on my country, no way."
The Khan clan won. The Athens Olympics became the defining moment of the precocious fighter's career, as he reached the final against the legendary Cuban Mario Kindelan.
Khan points to his training at the Sheffield Institute of Sport as one of the reasons for his success. "I was away from home. It made me focus."
And he maintains that he is even stronger for losing heroically to Kindelan in the final. "I'll now know what to expect when I box for a world title, all the pressure and hype," he says nonchantly.
Khan – Britain's youngest Olympic boxer since 1976 – knows he will face setbacks in the years ahead. For one, his love of fast cars could be a weakness. Khan admits he is regularly stopped by police who are suspicious at seeing a group of Asian youths "chilling out", to quote the sportsman, in a sports car in Bolton.
More seriously, the teenager will stand trial next month on a charge of dangerous driving following an accident in which a pedestrian suffered a broken leg. He can't comment on the case for legal reasons.
He also is tired of being linked romantically to a string of glamorous women. Khan says he has no girlfriend and will stay true to his Muslim faith by entering into an arranged marriage "when the time is right".
In the meantime, he is content in his dual role as boxer and voice for young British Muslims. The role became his when he stepped into the ring for his first pro fight carrying the Union flag two days after 7/7.
"I'm not a politician. And I don't understand why four young lads would kill themselves and loads of innocent people," says Khan. "They were wrong, brainwashed. You couldn't class them as human beings, never mind British.
"I think there needs to be better understanding between different faiths. The classroom assistant wanting to wear a full veil at the school in Dewsbury, she is wrong. How can children learn if they can't see her face? Asian kids won't succeed if they don't learn English. We need to understand each other more.
"Whenever I go to Pakistan, I'm happy to say I'm from England. That's how it is. That's how I feel. And if I can show young Asian lads that you can succeed, then great."
Khan's next fight will be in early December. He says he's looking to step up in class before a world championship date with destiny.
In the meantime, he will be glued to the TV, watching his cousin, Saj Mahmood, the England and Lancashire fast bowler, take on the Australians in this winter's Ashes battle.
"I'll be cheering him on – and the whole team. I'm sure they will win," declares Khan. "Yes, I'm proud of my Pakistan heritage, my whole family is. But we will always be British."
Norman Tebbit should be delighted – a sports-loving Muslim family proud to fly the flag for Britain. Amir Khan has clearly passed the Tebbit test. By a knockout.
[email protected]
Amir Khan: A Boy from Bolton is published by Bloomsbury, price £16.99.
Amir Khan will be signing copies on October 26 at 5pm at Asda, Owlcotes Centre, Pudsey, and at 1pm on October 27 at a Yorkshire Post-sponsored event at Waterstone's bookshop, Hustlergate, Bradford.
heres the article.
Tom Richmond talks to the 19-year-old about this extraordinary dual role – and its Yorkshire origins.
AMIR KHAN pulls no punches. "I'm proud to be British and a Muslim," he declares.
Such forthrightness may surprise many, given the religious strains that have become so evident following the war on terror, and which have been further fuelled by the furore over whether Muslim women should wear veils.
But then Amir Khan is no ordinary teenager. At 19, the young lightweight boxer is not just an Olympic silver medallist. He is also the poster boy for multi-culturalism in this country.
He dedicated his first victory as a professional to the victims of the July 7 bombings, he fasts in the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, even when a fight is approaching, and says a silent prayer whenever he steps into the ring.
He still occasionally works on the till at a relative's curry house – his disciplinarian parents want to keep him grounded and close to his Northern roots.
And when he met the Queen, she told him that she watched his fights and admires his efforts to encourage greater integration.
With all the innocence of youth, Khan slips into the conversation that he can be a world champion by this time next year. "That's my goal. I want my name up their in lights. I want to be the best, like Muhammad Ali," he says, at a speed matched only by his lightning-quick punches.
"It will be tough, yeah, I've got to work hard. But I already train loads. And I want to give something back – I want to make the whole country proud and show that Muslims can succeed if they have the right attitude.
"When people look at Muslims, they think negative things. When they look at me, people respond positively. I want to be a role model for all."
Khan's rise to stardom can be traced back to 1963 when his grandfather, Lall, took the then momentous decision to leave behind village life near Rawalpindi, Pakistan, for a new future in Britain.
Unable to speak a word of English, his first job was picking potatoes near Bradford before he eventually found work in the Lancashire cotton mills. He died before his superstar grandson was born, but he will always be Amir Khan's hero.
"It must have been tough.... harder than anything that I can do. He couldn't speak the language – the culture was all different – but he managed," says the boxer, who often seeks inspiration from old photos of his grandfather in a family album.
"Education was important to my grandparents. Grandad had travelled in the army and seen how basic the schooling was. He worked it out that, if his kids had any chance of becoming important people in some way, they must first speak English. I'm proud of him."
Khan is quick to knock down suggestions that his views are political. "I'm just an ordinary lad, remember."
However, his newly published bestseller, Amir Khan: A Boy From Bolton, should be compulsive reading, not only for boxing fans, but for political leaders and others grappling with the future of multi-culturalism.
As the boxer says himself, this book is not an autobiography. He regards the book as the first chapter of a remarkable life.
He was the same age as Hasib Hussain, one of the July 7 suicide bombers from West Yorkshire who killed 56 innocent commuters, and injured hundreds more, in London just two days before the boxer's pro debut.
The contrast couldn't be greater. Khan is a hero to many, while the 7/7 terrorists continue to be reviled. Yet, given that both young men grew up in the North in stable Muslim families, you have to wonder how they came to live such different lives.
Khan's theory is straightforward. He admits that he was a hyper-active, tearaway youngster who was always getting into scuffles – "I didn't care what size they were; it was all the same to me" – until he was frog-marched one day to the local boxing gym by his exasperated father, Shah.
"I was eight. Mum and dad were obviously concerned. They needed to channel my energy in a positive way. I was a good kid. I knew the difference between right and wrong. But I had a reputation. Looking back, it was the best decision that my family ever made.
"Instead of being on the streets and getting in trouble, I was down the boxing gym. It was in the basement of an old factory. The ring was disgusting, blood all over the canvas and the smell – horrible. But I felt at home.
"Because I was the youngest and smallest, I sparred with much bigger lads. But I didn't care. I just hit them back, sorted them out in the ring."
This is the never-say-die attitude that has so endeared Khan to legions of boxing fans around the world.
Yet the young boxer would still be unknown had he not won his battle with the Sheffield-based Amateur Boxing Association over his claim to participate in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. In spite of an impeccable schoolboy record, coach Terry Edwards and others were unconvinced that a raw 17-year-old could be a genuine medal contender.
Khan had no such doubts. "It wasn't arrogance, it was confidence in my abilities. As a country, we don't give people a chance. All I wanted to do was box for Britain. But they weren't sure, even when the United States offered me the chance to fight for them. But there was no chance I was turning my back on my country, no way."
The Khan clan won. The Athens Olympics became the defining moment of the precocious fighter's career, as he reached the final against the legendary Cuban Mario Kindelan.
Khan points to his training at the Sheffield Institute of Sport as one of the reasons for his success. "I was away from home. It made me focus."
And he maintains that he is even stronger for losing heroically to Kindelan in the final. "I'll now know what to expect when I box for a world title, all the pressure and hype," he says nonchantly.
Khan – Britain's youngest Olympic boxer since 1976 – knows he will face setbacks in the years ahead. For one, his love of fast cars could be a weakness. Khan admits he is regularly stopped by police who are suspicious at seeing a group of Asian youths "chilling out", to quote the sportsman, in a sports car in Bolton.
More seriously, the teenager will stand trial next month on a charge of dangerous driving following an accident in which a pedestrian suffered a broken leg. He can't comment on the case for legal reasons.
He also is tired of being linked romantically to a string of glamorous women. Khan says he has no girlfriend and will stay true to his Muslim faith by entering into an arranged marriage "when the time is right".
In the meantime, he is content in his dual role as boxer and voice for young British Muslims. The role became his when he stepped into the ring for his first pro fight carrying the Union flag two days after 7/7.
"I'm not a politician. And I don't understand why four young lads would kill themselves and loads of innocent people," says Khan. "They were wrong, brainwashed. You couldn't class them as human beings, never mind British.
"I think there needs to be better understanding between different faiths. The classroom assistant wanting to wear a full veil at the school in Dewsbury, she is wrong. How can children learn if they can't see her face? Asian kids won't succeed if they don't learn English. We need to understand each other more.
"Whenever I go to Pakistan, I'm happy to say I'm from England. That's how it is. That's how I feel. And if I can show young Asian lads that you can succeed, then great."
Khan's next fight will be in early December. He says he's looking to step up in class before a world championship date with destiny.
In the meantime, he will be glued to the TV, watching his cousin, Saj Mahmood, the England and Lancashire fast bowler, take on the Australians in this winter's Ashes battle.
"I'll be cheering him on – and the whole team. I'm sure they will win," declares Khan. "Yes, I'm proud of my Pakistan heritage, my whole family is. But we will always be British."
Norman Tebbit should be delighted – a sports-loving Muslim family proud to fly the flag for Britain. Amir Khan has clearly passed the Tebbit test. By a knockout.
[email protected]
Amir Khan: A Boy from Bolton is published by Bloomsbury, price £16.99.
Amir Khan will be signing copies on October 26 at 5pm at Asda, Owlcotes Centre, Pudsey, and at 1pm on October 27 at a Yorkshire Post-sponsored event at Waterstone's bookshop, Hustlergate, Bradford.
heres the article.
I have a strange feeling of deja-vous....I must have read about 5 similar "exclusive" interviews with Amir...boy he must be sick of being asked the same stupid questions over and over....
Does anybody think Amir can live up to the Hype? LOL
Who thinks that Amir is a role modle for young British Muslims? LOL
I mean talk bout repetitive
Does anybody think Amir can live up to the Hype? LOL
Who thinks that Amir is a role modle for young British Muslims? LOL
I mean talk bout repetitive
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Phenomenal-Nutrition
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 5185
- Joined: 10 Feb 2005, 14:53
KOJOE90 wrote:Yeah I live in Leicester but for some strange reason I have never played Football for England or advertised crisps on TV like Garry Spiniker and his skin colour is the same as mine.Also writes how he wonders how Khan and the 7/7 bombers could all grow up in the North in muslim familys but take such different paths? Thats like me wondering how i could grow up in Yorkshire yet not take the same path as Peter f-ckin Sutcliffe.
I also went to Loughborough University and yet not once have I been selected for the Olympics despite several other people who happen to have the same skin colour as I who also studied there have been to a number of them.
What the fudge is goimg on???????
How bizzare.
Looks like it's time for The X-Files made a comeback.
Re: YORKSHIRE EVENING POST- LAUGHABLE AMIR KHAN ARTICLE
Disagree with u on the comparison to Peter Sutcliffe, who's behaviour was pretty much determined by mental illness. The context of the terrorists reference is to do with the development of a violent sub-culture and how this is the antithesis of muslim's like Amir Khan.overhand_right wrote:Some posh wordy middle-aged fat f-ck writer called Tom Richmond has written yet another masturbating article over "extraordinary Amir Khan" today in yorkshire evening post. Thought i might share some highlights with you guys.
Got all the same insightful Khan comments as usual: "I'm proud to be British and muslim", "i can be a world champion by next year, i want to be the best like Muhammad Ali" (loved the following quote: "it'll be tough yeah, but i already train loads")
Funny how tom richmond is another of these old newspaper writers who sell Khan even though the only other boxers name they ever can ever conjure up is Muhammad Ali. Id love to have a banter with him & the media-shill crew about specific Ali fights, or better yet Larry Holmes or Marvin Hagler or Bob Foster or Wilfredo Benitez.
This geezer also says about Khans new (cash in/ghost written)book "compulsive reading not only for boxing fans but political leaders and others grappling with the future of multi-culturism" . enough said.
Also writes how he wonders how Khan and the 7/7 bombers could all grow up in the North in muslim familys but take such different paths? Thats like me wondering how i could grow up in Yorkshire yet not take the same path as Peter f-ckin Sutcliffe.
Oh yeah he also says Khan has been "linked romanticlly to a string of glamorous women"? Thats the first i've heard of it, not that i read tabloids but anyways...
Is it just sour old Overhand or is all of this shit kind of excessive for an 8-0 pro whos yet to advance past featherweight journeymen with zero knockouts?
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Max Molyneux
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7084
- Joined: 16 Aug 2004, 16:53
I'm a muslim and he ain't no role model, that's for sure. Speeding and crashing into an innocent pedestrian aren't the actions of a role model!bradinho wrote: Who thinks that Amir is a role modle for young British Muslims? LOL
These shit writers need to get a grip of themselves and stop brown-nosing Amir Khan. Yeah he's a good fighter but don't over-hype him, let him develop his talent at a normal pace. Furthermore don't make him out to be a muslim role model because he's not. To be honest Amir comes across as being rather thick
Nevertheless, good luck to him in his quest for a world title within a couple of years
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Max Molyneux
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 7084
- Joined: 16 Aug 2004, 16:53
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Nightmare Roy
- Heavyweight
- Posts: 16441
- Joined: 18 May 2003, 17:29
I'm sick of the site of Amir to be honest and i'm really fed up with the old i'm gonna do this and that, yes he will win a world title next year WBU, but that'll be it. Articles like that are aimed at people with no knowledge of the sport, which reminds me, not long back some one asked me if i reckone'd Amir could beat Nigel Benn when he was at his best 
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E
- Heavyweight
of course - have you ever read anything by Pat Sheehan????Goz wrote:
"Yet another reminder that change is not good"(football AM style)
Actually I make you right and I'm certain 95% of the tabloid boxing writers are the same and know sweet fa about the sport.
I think that artical is alright. He is constently asked because of his religion to take a position on muslim terror which is massively unfair on the lad (remember two weeeks ago the biggest hall of chemical expolsives of there type were found in a former BNP council candidates house and people ain't asking white boxers what there view on it is) he is being over hyped but thats british press and olympic athleats for you.
With Khan, the perception is that post Olympics, he's had everything on a silver platter. Until ppl see him do this or that, ppl will be hard on him. Especially after releasing a book. He does look very good for where he is, but I won't rave about him until I see something to rave about.
I feel no more inclined to read his book, than I do the "posh wordy wanker" article
So, I see Warren must have big plans for Mbaye. Unification maybe? No way. Have him fight infrequently, maybe vs easy foes, so that when Khan is ready he can challenge. Have Khan spar/train with Mbaye every opportunity, hmmm
I feel no more inclined to read his book, than I do the "posh wordy wanker" article
So, I see Warren must have big plans for Mbaye. Unification maybe? No way. Have him fight infrequently, maybe vs easy foes, so that when Khan is ready he can challenge. Have Khan spar/train with Mbaye every opportunity, hmmm
Re: YORKSHIRE EVENING POST- LAUGHABLE AMIR KHAN ARTICLE
overhand_right wrote:Some posh wordy middle-aged fat f-ck writer called Tom Richmond has written yet another masturbating article over "extraordinary Amir Khan" today in yorkshire evening post. Thought i might share some highlights with you guys.
Got all the same insightful Khan comments as usual: "I'm proud to be British and muslim", "i can be a world champion by next year, i want to be the best like Muhammad Ali" (loved the following quote: "it'll be tough yeah, but i already train loads")
Funny how tom richmond is another of these old newspaper writers who sell Khan even though the only other boxers name they ever can ever conjure up is Muhammad Ali. Id love to have a banter with him & the media-shill crew about specific Ali fights, or better yet Larry Holmes or Marvin Hagler or Bob Foster or Wilfredo Benitez.
This geezer also says about Khans new (cash in/ghost written)book "compulsive reading not only for boxing fans but political leaders and others grappling with the future of multi-culturism" . enough said.
Also writes how he wonders how Khan and the 7/7 bombers could all grow up in the North in muslim familys but take such different paths? Thats like me wondering how i could grow up in Yorkshire yet not take the same path as Peter f-ckin Sutcliffe.
Oh yeah he also says Khan has been "linked romanticlly to a string of glamorous women"? Thats the first i've heard of it, not that i read tabloids but anyways...
Is it just sour old Overhand or is all of this shit kind of excessive for an 8-0 pro whos yet to advance past featherweight journeymen with zero knockouts?
Now that is funny,, especially the Sutcliffe analogy