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Amir Khan to fight in Saudi Arabia: English boxer defends decision to take US$9 million payday against unheralded Indian
- Former welterweight champion says he ‘would be stupid to not take this opportunity’
- Fight due to take place in July
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British boxer Amir Khan insists he doesn’t regret agreeing to fight in Saudi Arabia despite concerns over human rights in the country.
Khan is due to face India’s Neeraj Goyat at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah on July 12.
Amnesty International have described the Saudi human rights record as “abysmal”, adding that the nation is in the “grip of a sweeping crackdown against critics of the government”, and implored Khan to travel there with his “eyes firmly open”.
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Less than three months after he was stopped in six rounds by Terence Crawford, Bolton-born Khan is reportedly being paid £7 million (US$8.9 million) to headline a team event between fighters representing Pakistan and India.
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The former unified world welterweight champion is a Muslim and has embarked on pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia on a number of occasions, offering him his own perspective on the country.
“When I was there last, it had all changed. I started seeing women not wearing head scarves. Women were out driving,” Khan told reporters in London on Thursday.
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