IT WAS a mixed night for young Keighley boxer Ibrahim Nadim on Saturday, as he won his sixth professional fight from six, but hours later, witnessed one of his idols, Amir Khan, practically forced into retirement.
Nadim cruised to a 40-36 points victory in his four-round super-bantamweight bout against Taka Bembere, meaning the Zimbabwean now has a 1-23 professional record.
The next step for 22-year-old Nadim is to try and secure that elusive first knockout victory, but for now, the Ricky Hatton-trained youngster will be happy to stay unbeaten.
With Nadim v Bembere the first fight on the card at the AO Arena in Manchester, the former had a long wait before he could watch his sporting hero Khan take on bitter rival Kell Brook, in their long-awaited grudge match.
Many had hoped to see this headline bout take place years ago, with both fighters now undoubtedly past their peak.
But they still produced an absorbing contest on Saturday night at the AO Arena.
Brook dominated throughout, pummelling Khan with some ferocious barrages, and it was to the latter’s credit that he lasted six rounds before the referee waved off the fight.
"I'll sit down with my family but I think it could be," Khan said when asked whether this could be his last fight. "It's something to think about, definitely.
"I've always said I never want boxing to retire me, I want to retire from boxing and punishment like that sometimes in boxing, too much of that can be sometimes harmful in the future."
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