Amir Khan is a rare thing in sport: A world champion boxer who still lives with his parents and a prominent Muslim who is not afraid to address the image of Islam today.

Khan tasted international boxing success when he was just 17, winning a silver medal at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. Now 23, he holds the WBA World Light Welterweight title, defended against Pauli Malignaggi in New York in May.

But bright lights and big cities haven't distracted the boy from Bolton, an unassuming town in northwest England. He still lives, and for the most part, trains, in his hometown.

"I'm so close with my family ... my Dad never missed an amateur fight or a professional fight, my uncle's the same, they've always been with me that's why I have so much respect for them," Khan told CNN.