Just a few hours after expressing a desire to fight Jon Thaxton to shut him up, Amir Khan has withdrawn from a proposed British title fight with Thaxton the night before the purse bids were due to be opened in Cardiff.
The British Boxing Board of Control have confirmed Khan does not wish to pursue the matter. The contest was to have doubled as a mandatory defence of Khan's Commonwealth lightweight crown.
BBBofC's secretary Simon Block said: "The Board will be disappointed Khan has decided not to put himself forward for the bidding process, and also that Thaxton appears to have turned down a career-best purse. With the great end in 2007 for our sport, this match was to be one of the most eagerly awaited."
Khan may now be stripped of his Commonwealth crown.