Former world champion Amir Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) has targeted a ring return for February of next year, and with a goal of having three fights in 2018.

Two of the fights are expected by Khan to take place before the month of May.

Khan has been out of the ring since May of 2016, when he moved up to a catch-weight of 155-pounds to challenge then WBC middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in the main event of an HBO Pay-Per-View from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was the first boxing event to be held in the venue.

While Khan started well in the fight, Canelo eventually adjusted and scored a brutal one-punch knockout in the sixth round.

Afterwards, Khan underwent surgery for a hand injury that kept out of the ring for the remainder of the year.

At the start of 2017, there were serious negotiations to fight his domestic rival, Kell Brook. Their negotiations abruptly collapsed after Khan announced that he was fighting Manny Pacquiao on a date in April in UAE. Pacquiao and his team also announced the planned fight.

But it wasn't long before that fight fell apart, after the investors of the event were unable to come up with the promised funds. Once there was no proof of funds, Pacquiao signed on to make a world title defense against Jeff Horn in Brisbane and Khan was left without a fight.

For most of the year, several planned return dates fell through - including a target rematch with Lamont Peterson, who won a decision over the Bolton fighter a few years ago. And then Khan was dealing a potential divorce before recently reconciling with his wife.

"I want to fight three times next year. I want to fight three times next year. I am always training. My first fight in 2018 is going to be in February, then again just before Ramadan in April," Khan said.