Brook/Khan rivalry shaping up like Hatton/Witter

By Gavin Duthie - 03/23/2015 - Comments

khan56By Gav Duthie: Matchroom supremo Eddie Hearn has been candid about his frustration in trying to tempt Amir Khan into the ring to face compatriat Kell Brook. Comparisons have been made to the rivalry between Kell Brook stablemate Junior ‘The Hitter’ Witter and Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton which was a fight mooted for years in the mid naughties which failed to materialise. Will the big Brook-Khan fight suffer the same fate? This article reflects on what happened between Witter and Hatton as well as comparisons and differences between the situation then and now. 

Ricky Hatton v Junior Witter

There was an obvious crossroads when this would have been a huge fight in the UK. Both were promoted by Frank Warren and they were also world champions. Witter went from 15-1-2 (4) after losing a close decision to Zab Judah taking the fight at short notice to 30-1-2 (19) between 2000 and 2004. That was 15 straight knockouts in 4 years. He beat Demarcus ‘Chop Chop’ Corley to win the WBC light welterweight title in 06 and destroyed former champion Vivian Harris in September 07. A few months earlier Hatton had just stopped Jose Luis Castillo taking him to 43-0 with Witter 36-1-2. The fight would have been huge at this point but Hatton opted to fight Pretty Boy’ Floyd Mayweather. 

It was clear that Hatton didn’t like Witter but the contest would have likely filled a football stadium. Despite Witter’s obvious class he was nowhere near as popular as Hatton. His attitude was aloof and dismissive of ‘The Hitman’ and unless you were a hardcore boxing fan you didn’t care for him much. Hatton felt the same way. Ricky wasn’t one for trash talk and he admitted that he didn’t need Witter and he wasn’t going to give him a payday, something Khan has often said in the past regarding Brook. Hatton reflected on being at a Britain’s Sports Personality of the year event when Witter leaned over whilst on stage and said ‘One Day’. Ricky made a conscious effort to make sure that day never happened. Hatton was earning possibly ten times more per fight than Witter and he was correct in that he didn’t need the fight financially but did he need it for his legacy?

Witter obviously never made near enough money from the sport when he was on top as he still fights now aged 41 despite losing to guys well below his prime level. With hindsight Hatton admits it would have been a great 50/50 contest that should have happened. Lets just hope that Brook and Khan can learn from their mistakes. 

Brook v Khan

There are differences regarding these two from the above. The main one is that Khan is not as popular as Ricky. He talks about headlining Vegas shows (even though only 4,000 turned up to watch v Alexander and PPV numbers were poor) and he mentions his level of competition being miles better than Brook. Yes he has faced a much higher calibre of opponent no doubt but then he has also lost 3 times and Brook never has. One comparison that fits is that Khan doesn’t need Kell for the money. He earns around 1.5-2 million dollars per fight where Kell’s highest earner was probably the $200k he received when beating Shawn Porter. Khan isn’t and never will be any near Hatton’s popularity and I would argue in terms of legacy Brook and Khan need each other in equal measure. 

What will be will be. It is important that Brook’s career doesn’t stall regardless of what Khan does. If Amir wants to chase Mayweather and Pacquaio then so be it. Eddie Hearn just needs to make sure that he keeps enhancing Brooks reputation whether that draws out Khan in the future or other fights stateside like Keith Thurman.

It is perfectly acceptable Brook fighting someone like Ionut Dan Ion 34-2 (18) this time around as Brook suffered a serious leg injury last year and it gets his mandatory obligations out of the way for another year. He needs to make sure though that his future opponents come from a pool of Keith Thurman, Victor Ortiz, Robert Guerrero, Tim Bradley, Brandon Rios, Juan Marquez, Andre Berto, Amir Khan, Manny Pacquaio and Floyd Mayweather as opposed to Frankie Gavin, Chris Van Heerden, Kevin Bizier and Antonin Decarie. If he can beat some of the big names his reputation will surpass Khan’s and he can wait for the ‘King’ to kneel before him. 

Will it happen?

If Brook can continue to increase his stock his bargaining position will become much stronger. He needs at least one more big win. When Witter lost his title to young Tim Bradley in his third defense the fight was killed with Hatton just as it would be if Brook lost. Khan feels the Brook fight is always there for him so why rush. Even if he fought and lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr or Manny Pacquiao he could still fight Brook. If Brook can build without him and put Amir in the rear view mirror for now then the fight will definitely happen in the future when Khan realizes it is the best fight out there for him. 

If it does happen my money would be on Kell Brook due to his superior timing, power and strength. 



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