Amir Khan pays tribute to Willie Limond following his death aged 45… with the former world champion offering his support to his former opponent’s family

Amir Khan has paid tribute to Willie Limond after he died aged 45 on Monday.

Limond, who played non-league football in Scotland before picking up the gloves, suffered a seizure in his car and was found unresponsive earlier this month.

The 45-year-old had recently returned to the ring and was preparing for a clash with Joe Laws due next month.

As well as holding Commonwealth and European gold during his career, Limond was most famous for taking on a young Khan back in 2007.

Speaking after Limond’s tragic passing, Khan offered his condolences via social media.

The former world champion offered his support to Limond’s family in a post on social media

“Just a short video today about a former opponent that I faced back in 2007 for the Commonwealth title,” said Khan.

‘It was my first major title as a professional boxer and it was against a guy called Willie Limond. Willie was driving and had a seizure and was later sent to the hospital and died.

‘My thoughts go out to his family. If there is any way I can help or support, please contact me or the team. It’s sad news for boxing, he was a great champion, was a great person. We met several times after we fought each other and as I said my thoughts go out to his family.

‘If there’s any way I can help, please let us know. Our prayers go out for Willie, we will keep him in our prayers and rest in peace.’

Limond became the first fighter to topple Khan as a professional when the pair met for his Commonwealth title in 2007

Khan was just 20 years old and 12 fights into his budding professional career when the pair faced off for Limond’s Commonwealth lightweight belt at the O2 Arena in London.

After the Olympic silver medalist took an early lead on the scorecards, Limond fought back to become the first fighter to drop Khan as a professional when he landed a thunderous sixth-round combination.

However, Khan recovered well and scored a knockdown of his own in the following round before Limond retired on his stool after the eighth.