Amir Khan has spoken out in defence of his wife after he was robbed at gunpoint. The Bolton boxer had been out with Faryal Makhdoom in London when he claims to have been robbed by two men for his £72,000 Franck Muller Geneve watch.
Faryal shared CCTV footage of the terrifying incident in Leyton, East London, on Wednesday after the incident took place on Monday evening (April 20). Amir also posted on social media after the incident to confirm he and his wife were safe.
The couple, who are parents to two little girls and a boy, Lamaisah, Alayna, and Muhammad, appeared on Good Morning Britain on Friday (April 22) to speak to hosts Kate Garraway and Richard Bacon about what happened that night with Amir also admitted that he was 'scared' to be in London in the days that followed.
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Appearing via video link from Dubai, Amir said that he didn't think it was anything sinister at first. "We just walked out the restaurant and as I crossed the road, I was literally just getting into the car, that's when I saw someone run up to me. At first I thought maybe it's a friend of mine or something trying to scare me but when I saw the gun... [they] put it literally into my face."
The CCTV footage was played out on the ITV news programme as Amir explained his shock. "For someone to have that on the streets is so unsafe. That could have been anyone."
He added that he "didn't retaliate" as he worried for Faryal. "God forbid the person shot the gun and it hit my wife. I'm so happy that Faryal ran back and she made it away from that scene because anything could have happened. She went back... she could have been hit by a car."
Kate explained how Amir had been on GMB just days before. "I think you came in wearing a watch... I don't think you were wearing it on air but you came into the studio... this is a watch that is £72,000.. Do you think the robbers knew who you were and likely to have a very valuable watch or do you think you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time?"
Amir said that he believed the robbers knew who he was, adding that for the last 15 years he's been wearing nice watches with the one in question a watch he treated himself to after a fight. "I meet fans... I never so no to anyone for a picture but then you don't know if you've been set up."
"You work hard so you should be able to treat yourself," Faryal added. "But I think Amir sometimes forgets he could get targeted. You never think this will happen. It's a real big wake-up call. "
Amir added: "Even after it happened, I was still in London for two days and I was walking around... I was really scared thinking 'I haven't got a watch on now, God forbid someone comes at me'. I do honestly feel very unsafe walking around London."
When asked by Kate if she was happy that Amir didn't fight back in the situation, Faryal said: "I think I did the right thing my stepping away. If I was to get into the situation and they did something to me, Amir would definitely then have to fight back.
"I think I did the right thing by screaming, saying there's a gun, and going off and trying to get help. I have kids, I'm a mother. Before anything, I'm a mother and God forbid anything was to happen to Amir or me... what would happen to my kids."
Amir then spoke up to defend his wife after some responded to the footage asking why Faryal ran away from the scene. "I'm so happy she did... things could have changed," before Faryal added: "The thing is I couldn't fight the gunmen, I couldn't do anything different."
She added: "It's hurtful when you get comments like that. No one knows how it feels or how to handle the situation any differently because they haven't been in it. My first instinct was hoping Amir's safe but my children."
Detective Constable Ben Grix, of the Metropolitan Police's North East Command burglary and robbery team, said on Thursday: "I am today releasing an image of the stolen watch which is a high-value Franck Muller timepiece valued at around £70,000. It is a one-off custom made design and will be easily recognised by anyone it is offered to for sale. If you, or anyone you know is offered the watch at a discounted price please contact us immediately."
He added: "If you were driving in the area around High Road, Leyton, at the time of the offence and have dashcam, please do check your footage for anything that might assist our investigation."
