AMIR Khan admits it could be time to call it a day after almost two decades in the ring as a professional.

Bolton superstar Khan spoke after his defeat to long-time rival Kell Brook following a sixth-round stoppage at Manchester’s AO Arena on Saturday night in their grudge match.

Battling bravely against an opponent that, despite also being nearer the end than the start of his career, looked sharper and more determined, Khan’s two-and-a-half year absence was evident and he conceded post-fight he has lost a lot of the love he had for the sport that gave him silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

And that may play a part in any decision the 35-year-old former unified world champion makes in the coming days.

Khan said: “”I’ll sit down with my family but I think it could be [my 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.

“I’ll sit down with my wife and my family in the morning and see where we go from here.

“Credit goes to Kell, he put on a great performance. No excuses - the better man. He boxed out of his skin, I never expected that from him.”

It was a showdown a long-time in the making and the British boxing public’s appetite was still there after tickets sold out inside 10 minutes - and the great and the good including the likes of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Oasis star Noel Gallagher and footballers Jack Grealish and Edinson Cavani were also ringside.

But in the end it was virtually one-way traffic for those spectators as a more assured Brook lived up to his ‘Special K’ tag with a dominant display from the firsts bell.

In the first round he had Khan’s legs wobbling on two occasions and while the Boltonian’s famous fast hands were still on show sporadically, it was Brook who was always on the front foot.

Time after time as the rounds went on, he commanded the centre of the ring and had Khan back-pedalling - several occasions the bell sounded just in time with the Lancastrian on the ropes.

He did land his own good shots in between barrages and Brook’s left eye swelled as it wore on.

But just 51 seconds into the sixth round, with Khan unable to defend himself from yet another Brook tirade, referee Victor Laughlin stepped into end it much to the delight of the Sheffield fighter who had been roundly booed during his ring walk by the partisan Red Rose crowd.

It was a sweet moment for Brook who has had a long-time feud with arch rival Khan but he also had words of praise following the savage battle.

Brook said: “He’s [Khan] had a fantastic career. He’s been to America, he’s won world titles, he’s been involved in some massive fights.

“He’ll have to sit like I will and see if we do want to carry on.

“But we’ve shared the ring together and I think we’re alright now.”

Prior to Khan’s comprehensive defeat, Bolton-based Natasha Jonas realised her dream of becoming a world champion as the Joe Gallagher-trained Liverpudlian became the new WBO super welterweight queen with a brilliant second-round stoppage over Uruguay’s Christian Namus.

Earlier on the packed Manchester bill, Amir’s cousin, Bolton featherweight Abdul Khan, demonstrated a sharp performance in his third professional outing as he defeated Rocky Starkey over four scheduled rounds 40-35 on points.

Opening the card, fellow former Bury ABC fighter, Ibrahim Nadim, continued his unbeaten record as a professional with a dominant points decision over Taka Bembere in the super bantamweight division.