By Charles Brun: Amir Khan says he wants to “hurt” Kell Brook and shut him up for good on February 19th in their grudge match at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Khan-Brook will be shown LIVE on Sky Box Office.
Khan (34-5, 21 KOs) has been listening to former IBF welterweight champion Brook (39-3, 27 KOs) ridicule him for years, badgering him for his reluctance to battle it out.
After 15 years as a pro, the 35-year-old Khan finally relented and has given Brook the fight that he’s been banging on about.
Khan has indeed chosen the right time in Brook’s career to face him, as he’s lost a few steps from his advanced age and hasn’t fought in over a year since his fourth round knockout loss to WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford in November 2020.
Some boxing fans believe that Brook’s punch resistance has gone down, as he was hurt by a jab from Crawford. Although Khan isn’t known for his power, he has more power than the jab that Crawford hurt Brook with last year.
Khan aims to HURT Brook
“My aim is to hurt and knockout Kell Brook. I’m training every day,” said Amir Khan on social media. “I’ve never trained this hard in my life. The last time I trained like this was in the Olympics [2004].
“I leave it to God which round I knock Kell Brook out. I am going to win the fight, 100%. I’m not just doing this for the money and saying that I’m fighting him.
“I’m doing this to win. I’ve achieved a lot and made a lot in the sport, but this is one fight that I want to put him to rest—this whole issue of me fighting Kell Brook. I’m just going to put it to rest.
“Look, Kell Brook can train as hard as he wants for this fight,” said Khan. “I honestly do not care. Look at the skill-set that I’ve got. Look at the speed, power, and movement. There are levels in this game,” said Khan.
For the sake of boxing, it would be better if Brook wins rather than Khan because he intends on continuing his career. Khan, 35, has already made it clear that he’s retiring after this fight, win or lose.
A victory for Brook will set up a massive domestic clash between him and unbeaten Conor Benn.
Unless Conor or his promoter Eddie Hearn loses their nerve due to Brook brutally beating Khan, Benn-Brook will be a massive fight in 2022.
After listening to boxing fans say that he’s been ducking Brook for the last decade, Khan finally has a chance to shut them up on February 19th.
If Khan beats Brook, he’ll get the last laugh and can ride off into the sunset, having proven himself the better fighter of the two.
However, if Brook knocks Khan out, as many boxing fans have been predicting for over ten years, then he’ll retire having proven his critics right.
Brook has fallen short against the best
“Kell Brook, every top-level guy has beaten him,” continued Khan. “Who has he beaten? Shawn Porter, that was a 50-50 fight. A lot of people thought Shawn Porter won that fight. It was not a convincing win.
“I’ve had many convincing wins, I’ve fought better people, and I’ve fought better opposition. So really, I don’t care which Kell Brook turns up on the night. I’m going to be more than ready for this guy.
“We want the best Kell Brook to be there, so we don’t have any excuses after the fight. I want to put him to rest. A lot of people say I have the speed over him. I don’t think it makes a difference.
“All this bull s*** he’s saying about ‘timing beats speed.’ Yeah, do you still have the same timing as you did ten years ago? Come on, are you still the same fighter you were ten years ago?
“My speed is still there. I’m still exciting, still strong, and on the game. I hope he comes trained and ready because I want to give the fans a massive fight. I want to give them a good fight.
“I’m not here making the numbers. I’m here to win. I want to put this guy to rest and send a statement out to the world as well. People ask what I’m doing after this fight. I’m done, man.
“I’m going to see where life takes me. What is there to do in the sport of boxing after this fight? Not much. I did everything I wanted to do. My dream was to fight in Vegas.
“My dream was to fight in New York at Madison Square Garden,” said Khan.
The problem with Brook is that he hasn’t fought many super talented fighters during his career. These are the best fighters Brook has fought during his career:
- Gennadiy Golovkin
- Errol Spence Jr.
- Shawn Porter
- Terence Crawford
- Carson Jones
Amir leaning towards Crawford beating Spence
“So who wins the fight between Crawford and Spence? I’m not just saying this because I’m in the Crawford camp, and I’m on the same team as him,” Khan said about a hypothetical fight between IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. and WBO champion Terence Crawford.
“I just think Crawford has a lot to show and still has a lot left in the tank.
“With Spence, Spence had that car accident,” said Khan. “He still came back and won that fight against [Danny] Garcia.
“He’s still a beast, don’t get me wrong, but I just feel that with Crawford, a lot of people don’t give him credit for his power. He’s got the speed, he’s got the movement, he’s got the ring craft, and he’s got the skill set.
“So I think people don’t give him the credit, but I just feel like Crawford is a step ahead. I mean, when it comes to skill, I think he’s better [than Spence], stronger in my opinion.
“A lot of people think Spence is the stronger one, but I don’t think so,” said Khan in rating Crawford as more powerful than Spence. “I think Crawford is the stronger one.”
We don’t know yet if Spence and Crawford will ever fight each other, so it’s a bit premature to talk about them fighting in 2022.
Spence will be facing WBA 147-lb champion Yordenis Ugas in early next year, and there’s no certainty that Errol will win that fight. Errol is coming off an eye injury, and he’s not looked the same since his car accident in October 2019.
If Spence loses to Ugas, you can close the book on a potential future clash between Errol and Crawford.
For his part, Crawford is expected to fight Keith Thurman next year, and that’s a tough one too that is difficult to predict.
Crawford wins against Thurman on paper, but Bud didn’t look good against the faded gatekeeper Shawn Porter last November. If that’s the best Crawford can do at the age of 34, Thurman might beat him.