By Marcus Richardson: Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport says his new signee Amir Khan will fight 3 times in 2018 with the final bout of his contract being a ‘super-fight’ in December of the year. Hearn says Khan’s 3 fights in 2018 will be in April, August or September and then in the winter. The third fight will finish out Khan’s existing 3-fight contract with Matchroom.
Hearn isn’t saying who the opponent will be for the 31-year-old Khan in the super fight, but he does mention Kell Brook, Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman as potential options.
Brook, 31, is signed with Hearn’s Matchroom Sport, and that’s the biggest money option for Khan of the names floated by Hearn. However, Brook has moved up to 154, and Khan might not be interested in facing him unless the weight could be agreed on. Khan recently had a bad experience in facing a heavier fighter than him in Saul Canelo Alvarez in their fight on May 6, 2016. Khan was knocked out in the 6th round by Canelo.
Pacquiao, 39, might not be considered a super fight for Khan, as he’s lost 2 out of his last 4 fights, and he’s coming off of a defeat to Jeff Horn. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank wants him to fight the winner of the Horn vs. Terence Crawford fight. If Pacquiao agrees to that, he’s very likely going to lose. Given that situation, Hearn might not be interested in using Pacquiao as Khan’s opponent for the super fight.
“The plan is to box in April and then again in August or September in preparation for a super fight in winter 2018,” said Hearn to Sky Sports. ”The target is to provide him with the biggest fights possible, of course a British mega-fight with Kell Brook is top of that list along with the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Keith Thurman and Errol Spence Jr. I’m excited to get started and looking forward to a huge night of boxing on April 21 in Liverpool.”
It does Hearn the most good if Khan faces Kell Brook, as he’s signed under his Matchroom banner. Keeping the promotion in house is the best deal for Hearn to make. Khan’s potential fights against Thurman or Spence aren’t super fights, as far as drumming up interest from the British boxing fans. Brook is the best fight of the bunch for Khan in terms of money that can be made. Brook has already been beaten by Spence, and he likely would lose to Thurman as well, but that’s not important.
It’s not about who the best fighter is of the bunch for Khan. It’s more about who can bring in the most money, and that’s obviously Brook, because he’s from the UK and known by the hardcore and casual boxing fans.
There’s a very good chance that Khan could end his current 3-fight contract with Matchroom Sport with at least 2 defeats of those 3 matches. It’s unclear whether Hearn will be interested in signing the 31-year-old Khan for an extension at that point. Hearn will obviously be interested in re-signing a popular fighter like Khan again, but the terms would likely be different due to his bleak career outlook. Right now, Hearn can still do a lot with Khan given that he’s only lost 1 time to Canelo Alvarez in the last 6 years. But if Khan gets beaten by Spence, Thurman and Brook, then all of a sudden things won’t be looking so bright for him. What does Hearn do with Khan after he loses 2 or 3 fights? Obviously, Hearn’s options will be limited with Khan. Hearn can put Khan in with guys like Bradley Skeete, Frankie Gavin and Sam Eggington. Those would be decent domestic level fights for Khan, but they wouldn’t be big fights.