By Daven: For bordering on three years now Kell Brook and Eddie Hearn have been calling out Amir Khan, while feasting on the blood of second and even third tier fighters. With Brook having problems earlier in the year, one wonders how long he’ll remain a ‘champion.’
I use the term because he’s beaten nobody to warrant such a title, if anything his bout with Porter was a draw, not a 117-11 victory. Amir ‘King’ Khan is trying to establish a solid fan base in America right now and doesn’t feel the need to fight in little old Sheffield in contrast to Brook.
I mean, how can you call yourself a star if you just fight in your home-town every fight against small time fighters? At least Amir goes out of his way to place himself in relevant dust-ups against worthy opponents such as: Zab Judah, Marcos Maidana, Danny Garcia and Devon Alexander.
Khan realizes that Floyd Mayweather’s and Manny Pacquiao’s days at the top are numbered. And there is subsequently going to be a void which needs filling. Ultimately team Khan is wise enough to comprehend that their guy ought to be fighting State-side every time to win the affection of the American television networks and the boxing public there. This is obviously due to the fact millions can be made fighting in Vegas and New York, whereas fighting in the UK is incompatible with American television and sponsorship deals etc. Mayweather’s fortunes will not be surpassed by Khan but the money is there for the Bolton kid to maneuver himself into making $5-7,000,000 per fight in the post-Mayweather era for sure. He just needs to stay active in America by battling the likes of: Maidana, Robert Guerrero, Garcia, Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez. I elect to use the last two names because if the long awaited clash happens on May 2 then there will be no more obstacles halting match-ups between Golden Boy and Top Rank boxers.
Where does Kell Brook fit into this? Well, nobody in America demands to see his fights owing to his lack of visibility. On the other hand Khan is always making bold claims, the fact that many of them are silly proves to be irrelevant. The fact is Amir has earned the respect of a good portion of the American boxing community because he has bounced back from heavy defeats. And he still has the gall to refer to himself in the third person. Again, doing this may not make him likeable but it certainly adds to his persona. Compare this to Kell Brook and intelligent promoters know which fighter is marketable and which one is dead weight.
Recently it was announced by Hearn that Kell would be playing it safe yet again come March. Brook will likely be in a ‘fight’ with unheralded Dan Ion but Kevin Bizier remains an option. When you look at the 147 lb division it makes you sad to see Brook fight against such lackluster opposition. With Hearn already ruling out a fight with Keith Thurman, Marcos Maidana and Shawn Porter, it makes you wonder who’ll be next for Brook. It could just be a case of fighting whomever happens to be mandatory for a year or 2, in the hope Khan accepts the fight eventually. Khan is willing to go out on his shield in America whereas Brook plays it safe in his hometown. Let that sink in before you criticize Khan and give false praise to Brook and Hearn.
All in all Brook has little to offer Khan. It’s great that Hearn’s booked Wembley for June 12 but without Khan as the star attraction, Brook will have to settle for being chief support or something. Perhaps James DeGale – George Groves can headline with Brook – Frankie Gavin as the penultimate match seeing as how both man tend to stay in England. Amir needs to solidify his status State-side, £3m sounds nice to fight against Brook but it’ll get him little exposure in America and if he were to lose it, he’d lose all credibility as well as massive loss in potential earnings. The best course of action for Khan is to take a rematch with Maidana in May, look good and then he can call out the winner of Mayweather-Pacquiao. Brook will probably continue to avoid Thurman, Maidana, Alexander, Marquez and Bradley, with Hearn citing lack of money
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