Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook should take place in Pakistan, says Davies

By Boxing News - 01/06/2021 - Comments

By Charles Brun: Welterweight Amir Khan plans on starting negotiations for a domestic level fight against former world champion Kell Brook. Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has already been in contact with Khan (34-5, 21 KOs), and they’ll be beginning negotiations soon.

Some of the important things that will need to be decided are the location, weight, date, and the purse split for the Khan vs. Brook match.

With no boxing being allowed in the UK right now due to government restrictions, the Khan – Brook match might need to be staged abroad somewhere.

Writer Gareth Davies thinks it’s a great idea to stage the fight in a large stadium in Pakistan. With Khan’s popularity, he and Brook (39-3, 27 KOs) could bring in a tremendous crowd if fans are allowed to attend live sporting events in that country in the next four to five months.

Fans still interested in Khan vs. Brook

“I saw Amir a month ago, and we talked about it,” said Gareth Davies to IFL TV. “He mentioned that if there was going to be one more fight, he wanted to have it against Kell Brook.

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“I said why not have it a place like Lahore in front of 120,000, and make it a spectacle. Do something really different. I’d like to see that fight.

“There’s still some appeal. It’s not the blockbuster stadium fight that it was in a football stadium that it was two years ago or before they stepped up to middleweight, vis-a-vis the Canelo fight for Khan and the Golovkin fight for Brook.”

It’s questionable whether the British boxing fans will want to purchase the Khan-Brook fight on Sky Box Office. Both fighters are considered shot, and neither is relevant as far as the top welterweights go.

Kell, 34, will need to give the green light to take the fight with Khan to a foreign country.

Given how much interest the former IBF welterweight champion Brook has had in fighting Khan for the last 15 years, it likely won’t be a game-changer if he wants to stage the fight outside of the UK.

Brook is coming off a fourth-round knockout loss to Terence Crawford last November in the U.S. It wasn’t one of Brook’s better performances, and it’s unclear whether he has anything left at this point in his 16-year professional career.

Brook’s punching power is still present, but his punch resistance may have taken a hit. The shot that Crawford hurt Brook with was a weak right hook that was similar to a jab.

Khan – Brook in Pakistan?

“That might have been even three years ago now,” said Davies. “That’s what I was saying to Amir. Surely, doing it somewhere like Pakistan. You could do it before or after a T20 game where there are massive crowds would make it more of a spectacle.

Image: Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook should take place in Pakistan, says Davies

“There’s still an appetite [for Khan vs. Brook], but there’s no way they’re selling out Wembly Stadium for that fight anymore. Not that it was a Wembley Stadium fight necessarily, but yeah, I’d like to see it.”

Staging the fight in Pakistan at least gives the possibility that a large crowd will be in attendance. If Khan and Brook waited until crowds were allowed back in for UK events, they might not bring in many fans.

If Hearn dropped the price to a manageable number, the fans might be willing to purchase tickets. It’s doubtful that he would, though.

Great ending for Khan and Brook’s careers

“It rounds the corner for both of them in their careers,” said Davies about Khan and Brook.  “Forever we’ll be saying, ‘Those guys should have fought each other.’

Image: Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook should take place in Pakistan, says Davies

There will be many moans that they’re fighting each other like Mayweather and Pacquiao, three years too late, but it would be good to see it for the both of them for the ends of their careers.

“Of course, it will,” said Davies about the interest in the Khan – Brook fight heating up the weak of the fight. There will be a lot of debate, you know? ‘Will Kell knockout Amir? Will Amir’s speed be too much for Kell? What to do they got left?’

“Both men have suffered losses to [Terence] Crawford, of course. ‘Do they both have one fight left in them?’ I’m sure they’ll both pull out all the stops, and then they have the debate of which weight they fight at.

“Kell will want it at 147. Amir might want it at 143. It could go back and forth, couldn’t it?

“The divide; It’s a 50-50 fight, but let’s first secure the right weight, first of all, that they’re going to do it at, and let’s get it on,” said Davies.

Potentially, Khan vs. Brook would be a good ending for their respective careers, but that’ll depend on many things. If the numbers are PPV poor, it would be a bad ending.