By Scott Gilfoid: Amir Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) has revealed that IBF welterweight champion Kell “Special K” Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) will be his next big fight he takes. Khan says he’ll be fighting twice in 2017; once in April and then another time later on in the year. However, Khan isn’t saying that Brook will be next.
Khan’s next big fight WILL BE Brook, but it doesn’t mean he’s going to be his next fight. That is really bad news for Brook, because if he doesn’t get a fight against Khan, he’ll need to face his mandatory challenger Errol Spence Jr. next.
I wish Brook a lot of luck with Spence, because he’s going to need it. We’re probably talking about a Gennady Golovkin vs. Brook 2.0 type of an outcome when Brook gets inside the ring with Spence. Khan says he expects to fight in April, and he’s looking forward to get back in the ring.
Khan’s injured right hand is healed following recent surgery. This is an injury that Khan has had throughout his career, and it’s limited his punching power.
It’s perfectly understandable for Khan not to fight Brook in his next fight in April, because he’s coming off a hand injury a bad knockout loss to Saul Canelo Alvarez in his last fight in May of 2016. It would be a risky move on Khan’s part to fight Brook without a winnable tune-up fight in April.
Fighting Brook in April would be giving him too many advantages. On the flip-side, it would be in Khan’s best interest to fight Brook as soon as possible for a couple of reasons. Brook is coming off of a stoppage loss to middleweight Gennady “GGG” Golovkin in his last fight, and he might be still mentally and physically shaken from that loss. Moreover, Brook suffered an eye injury in that fight, and it’s debatable whether his eye will be able to take the punishment from a normal fight without closing on him.
Brook might not be nearly as confident standing in the pocket against Khan with his eye having been operated on recently. As such, if Brook runs around the ring to avoid getting hit on his eye like he did against Golovkin, then there’s very little chance that he’s going to beat Khan.
The only way Brook defeats Khan is by walking him down and landing big power shots until he falls apart. Another reason why it’s better for Khan to fight Brook now is because if he waits to fight him until AFTER his fight against Errol Spence, Khan could wind up facing a beaten Brook. If Spence knocks Brook out like many boxing fans think he will, then that’s going to cause a lot of fans to lose interest in Brook. So if Khan fights Brook after he’s whipped by Spence, he might be fighting him in front of an empty audience at Wembley Stadium. Additionally, the fight might not sell on Sky Box Office PPV due to the fans knowing about Brook having been blasted to smithereens by the talented Spence. For that reason, it’s better for Khan to bite the bullet and get the Brook fight over with in April rather than later on in the year. It’s really a no-brainer. If you want the big cash against a very, very vulnerable Brook, then you fight him next in April. If you want the smaller money against a likely battered Brook, still licking his wounds from a fight against Spence, then you fight him later in the year. I see things logically. I’m not sure that Khan sees things the way that Gilfoid does.
Khan said this on his social media site about his next fight:
“Working hard,” said Khan. “Soon to announce who I will be fighting. Hand feels great!”
The boxing public wants to see Khan and Brook finally face each other, as both are nearing the end of their careers as top fighters. I know that’s hard to stomach, given that Brook is technically still the IBF welterweight champion, but it’s true. Let Gilfoid tell you the reality of Brook’s situation. He’s never really fought good fighters in his career other than Shawn Porter and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.
Brook is about to lose to Spence if he doesn’t vacate his IBF title to avoid the loss, which is what a lot of the fans believe will ultimately take place with Brook. Once Brook loses his IBF belt, he’s not going to be able to pick up another title, because he’s not going to beat Danny Garcia, Manny Pacquiao or Keith Thurman. Brook is struggling making 147, and you can’t be dehydrated and weak to have a chance of beating those guys.
Khan said this to the Bolton News about his next fight in April:
“I want to be back in the ring around April time and then again at the end of the year,” Khan said. “I had the hand operation and it feels brand new. ”I think that [Kell Brook] will be the next big fight for me. It would be massive – a super fight.”
After the way that Brook was whipped by Golovkin, I’m giving Khan a VERY good chance of beating Brook. He’s ripe for the picking if the fight takes place next. Brook put on weight for the Golovkin fight, as did Khan for his fight at middleweight against Saul Canelo Alvarez last May. I think it’s going to be a lot harder for Brook to get down to 147 than it will be for Khan.
This means that Brook might be a weakened fighter when he gets inside the ring with Khan. That’s a win-win type situation for Khan. With Brook having to melt down from middleweight to fight Khan at 147, now is the proper time to fight him. As I mentioned previously, Khan can gain an edge over Brook with him having been beaten and bloodied by Golovkin, and badly injured with his busted right eye socket.
“I can’t wait to get in the ring at 147 again, which is my weight division,” said Khan. ”I think these next few years are going to be my best.”
I don’t know about 2017 being Khan’s best year of his career. I don’t buy that. I do think Khan beats Brook if he fights him in April. Other than that, I see 2017 ending badly for Khan if he fights the winner of the Danny Garcia vs. Keith Thurman fight. Both of those guys will knock Khan out in my estimation, because they’re not struggling with the weight, and they’re not coming off of beat downs at the hands of Golovkin.
Yeah, if Thurman and Garcia both had just fought Golovkin and suffered broken eye sockets and bad beatings like Brook did, then I’d potentially favor Khan to beat them. Those guys didn’t fight Golovkin though, and I can’t see either of them ever being crazy enough to take a fight against a monster puncher like him. Brook got a big payday against Golovkin and helped increase his notoriety in the boxing world with that fight, but it came at a tremendous cost for him with the eye injury he suffered. I don’t think Brook fully realizes how bad it is to suffer an eye injury like the one he suffered. It’s never good news to have your eye socket busted. Taking on Khan in his next fight is going to be a very risky thing to do.