British star Amir Khan admits Las Vegas showdown against Saul Alvarez was a mistake

Britain's Amir Khan has admitted moving up in weight to fight Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez was a mistake. The 29-year-old star has confessed he risked long-term health problems by agreeing to fight the then-middleweight champion in Las Vegas in May.

Khan was knocked out in dramatic fashion in round six at the newly-built T-Mobile Arena in Nevada – and has now conceded he underestimated the size of the task he was facing. Khan compared his against-the-odds mission to Kell Brook's knockout defeat to the similarly fearsome middleweight Gennady Golovkin in September.

"I did a similar thing to when Kell Brook fought Gennady Golovkin when I fought Canelo," he explained to World Boxing News. "I think Canelo was around 185 pounds when he walked into the ring, 190 pounds almost. I think it was a bad decision, though, maybe for both of us. I don't think it's healthy for smaller fighters to do that because we are risking our lives.

"When you're fighting someone coming in at a massive weight, it's a huge difference because these guys are really big and very strong. These guys are dangerous at their own weight, let alone fighting against guys who are smaller."

Khan said the devastating defeat to Canelo has led him to reconsider his future and the Brit has confirmed that in the immediate term, he will continue his career at 147lbs. "You have to respect the weight categories and that's something I definitely respect now moving forward. I always thought before the Canelo fight, 'what would happen if I moved up a weight?' And now I know it's not for me," he shared.

Asked whether he could permanently make the move to the super-welterweight 154lbs division, Khan explained: "Right now I'm staying at 147 but maybe 154 at some point in the future. Who knows? I could finish off my career at 154 one day. You just don't know, but I enjoy making 147 and I'm comfortable at 147. It doesn't give me a problem, really."