An Olympic silver medallist at 17 and current World Boxing Association champion; Amir Iqbal Khan, 23, is at the top of his sport.

Born and raised in the UK, supported by his parents, Amir took to boxing at an early age and has an impressive amateur record. Having three English school titles, three junior ABA titles and gold at the 2003 junior Olympics and European Student Championships 2004; he lost to Cuban Mario Kindelan in the 2004 Olympic Finals to win silver at age 17. Amir later beat Kindelan before the end of his amateur career with a win/loss record of 100/2.

Instead of pursuing gold at the 2008 Olympics he turned professional in 2005 and went on to win the Commonwealth Lightweight title in 2007. He successfully defended the title against the then British number one Graham Earl, beating him in a mere 72 seconds. He went on to fight further five times that year. Still early in his professional career, he suffered his first defeat at the hands of the undefeated Columbian Breidis Prescott in 2008.

Switching between trainers, a dint of conspiracy and landing under the watchful eyes of coach Freddie Roach; he recovered by beating a highly ranked opponent Marco Berrera and went on to win the WBA world light-weight Championship title in 2009; Becoming the third youngest British World Champion behind Naseem Hamed and Herbie Hide.

After his defeat by Prescott, many thought his 15 minutes of fame were over. But he worked harder, training under a different trainer and showed his resilience by becoming a better-rounded fighter than before. Amir Khan says that his faith keeps him humble; he not only prays before fights but prays everyday. Outside the boxing world, he is a prominent Muslim community member in the UK. In a CNN documentary on Khan which revolved around a visa delay before his first fight in the United States, the traditional “Muslims, terrorists” polemic invariably came up. American media people badgered him about details of his Pakistani origins, probable causes for the visa delay and his recent visits to Pakistan to the point that they were requested to be focused on the fight and not politics. He expressed his will to show the world that Muslims are not terrorists by acting as a representative of his people.

Amir Khan's parents emigrated from Pakistan in the 1950s and he has a certain cultural affiliation with our country. He's a British born Pakistani, who lives with his parents and his family is devoted to traditional values. In 2004 he helped raise a million pounds for the victims of the tsunami and came to Pakistan in 2005 to visit aid camps in Kashmir after the earthquake. Amir also took part in child safety campaigns and raised more than 6,000 pounds for a local fire-fighter who was badly hurt while trying to save a family from an arson attack in his hometown.

Critics say that Khan is a legitimate talent but needs to handle his career more carefully. Amir Khan will have been out of the ring for seven months when he appears for his next fight this December; his recent fights were against average opponents which left him ill-prepared to face the big fighters in the light welterweight category. Promotion agencies and prime television channels are letting the ratings get the best of this young man's career but Amir seems to be confident in his ability and heart to swim the unpredictable waters of the boxing world. Here's hoping he keeps up his impressive record and the 'Khan's army' multiplies.