Boxer Amir Khan says model asked him for £20,000

LONDON: British Pakistani boxer Amir Khan has said that an Asian bridal model who has made accusations against him had tried to blackmail him by asking for £20,000, and when he refused it, the model sold her story to a British tabloid.

Amir Khan hit back after model Sumaira accused him of cheating on his British Pakistani wife Faryal Makhdoom by engaging in an explicit conversation with him over several weeks this year.

Amir Khan, who is in Dubai with his wife and three children, told Geo News over the phone that Sumaira had deleted lots of messages and showed only a selected few to The Sun newspaper which carried the original story in which the model made accusations against the boxer.

Amir said Sumaira started talking to her online on social media and told him she didn’t like her family and was looking away from them. The boxer said he asked her about the tattoos on her body and whether her faith permitted this.

Sumaira, according to the boxer, started sending her revealing pictures.

He said: “All I replied was that you look good but really that wasn’t something I was impressed by. To be honest it put me off.”

When asked if the boxer asked the model “I can’t stop looking”, the sports star told this reporter that he did so but only because she expressed her wish for him to say so as a way of complimenting to make her happy about herself. The boxer revealed that Sumaira then asked him for £20,000.

The boxer said: “I said I can’t give you any money. Go get a job and it’s wrong if you want money.”

He added: “The reason she went to the papers was I didn’t want to give her money. Her story about her family disowning her did upset me but I knew she was on the money thing and is a liar. I stopped messaging her.”

Amir Khan rejected Sumaira’s allegation that he spoke against his wife Faryal Makhdoom or said that their marriage was a business relationship.

He said Sumaira wanted to meet him and asked him when he was coming to the UK. He said they made no plan of meeting and there was no desire from his side.

Amir Khan said that Sumaira had made up a lot of things to sell the story. He said: “I ended our conversation by telling her that I’m happily married. And yes in all relationships, you have ups and downs but we (Amir and Faryal) are cool in Dubai together with the kids. I feel sorry for people like Sumaira for what they do.” Sumaira claimed that it was a 36-year-old boxer who reached out to her online and complimented her tattoos, leading to a heated conversation about her appearance and Amir suggested she had undergone cosmetic procedures.

The model alleged that Amir Khan seemingly implied that he didn’t want to be caught doing anything inappropriate and deleted pictures. The conversation allegedly began when Khan commented on Sumaira’s tattoos on Instagram. When she expressed uncertainty about his intentions, he insisted he was serious and complimented her appearance. Sumaira sent him a fully clothed picture displaying roses on her midriff, which apparently caught his attention. Sumiara claimed that it was the boxer who encouraged her to send more pictures, claiming it was just a discussion about tattoos and that he had seen similar images before.

Sumaira also said that Khan invited her for a night out in London but she ignored his messages.

Amir Khan told this reporter he was very happy in his married life and chatting with women doesn’t mean infidelity or any wrongdoing.

The News has reached out to Sumaira and awaits her full version over the controversy.

Sources close to Sumaira have denied all allegations by Amir Khan. They said no money was exchanged and Sumaira never demanded anything from Amir Khan.