Amir Khan has described how his Muslim faith fits into his intensive training regime in the build up to a fight.
The former world champion and Olympic silver medallist from Bradford is in the last stages of preparation for his fight against Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez on Saturday night in Las Vagas.
In the second episode of HBO Boxing's 24/7 build up, the devout British Muslim told of how precious Friday prayers are to him in the midst of his regime.
"In training camp it gets quite hard so I take that one day off, on Fridays. It's the only place where my mind is off boxing. Where I kind of take it away from boxing. Instead of thinking about myself, just trying to connect to God."
Khan turned professional just after the 7/7 bombings in London and has seen himself as a role model for Muslims ever since.
"My job is to show the world that we're no different than any other religion, that we all want, we're all the same, we're all human and we should all respect each other," he said.
On a previous occasion he spoke to Boxing Monthly about shouldering the burden of British Muslims.
"As a member of the Islamic community, I wanted to show that I was a kid who had taken the right path. There was a lot of pressure on me. I chose to accept that pressure and send the right message.
"I'm a Muslim Pakistani who is totally against terrorism. You always get a bad bunch in every race. I didn't want people to think that of me or for it to change how people see me. I see myself as a British Pakistani and Muslim – I'm proud that I come from England."
He continued: "I do get some criticism on the social networks, but it never gets to me. If you're getting criticised, you must be doing something right. If it stops, then it means no one is talking about you. I will continue to do what I do.
"I love boxing, I love putting on a show for people. I'm an entertaining fighter, so I'm not sure why people take me the wrong way and say bad things about me. I just never let it get to me. I stay strong in my mind and do what I love doing."
