The autobiography of a boxing superstar and Olympic and world champion

'Khan is extraordinary ... To many ... the figure of an Olympic champion turned political icon suggests Muhammad Ali' OBSERVER

Amir Khan is a hard-working, twenty-first-century hero: a standard bearer for his Pakistani heritage, his Lancashire upbringing and the future of British boxing.

At just seventeen he won silver at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and when he turned professional in 2005 he won his first fight in 109 seconds. Tickets to his fights sold out in hours and he was watched by millions on prime-time television.

But his feet were still firmly on the ground - he lived at home with his parents in Bolton, fasts in the holy month of Ramadan and could sometimes be spotted helping out at his uncle and auntie's curry house.

Here he tells his story: of a boy from Bolton who just happens to be a world-class boxer.