By Charles Brun: Chris Eubank Jr. says he sees tonight’s Kell Brook vs. Amir Khan fight as a true 50-50 clash, but he REALLY wants Amir to win for personal reasons.
Eubank Jr. dislikes Brook (39-3, 27 KOs) due to the trash-talking he’s done in the past and he’d like to fight him.
Chris admits that from a business point of view, it’s better for him if the former IBF welterweight champion Brook wins tonight. Still, Eubank Jr’s dislike for Brook pushes him towards wanting Khan (34-5, 21 KOs) to win.
Khan vs. Brook will be fighting in front of a sold-out crowd at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.
The fight was well over 10+ years late, but the British boxing fans are still eating it up, happy to see the 35-year-old Khan and Brook do battle.
Some of the fans even think the winner has a chance to fight for a world title against the winner of the April 16th unification match between IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr and WBA champion Yordenis Ugas.
That would be a very, very bad idea for boxing fans hoping to watch a competitive fight.
Eubank Jr. wants Khan to win
“I’m interested in the fight. I haven’t been in a big fight card in a while. This has a lot of potential to be a good fight, and it is a 50-50 fight,” said Chris Eubank Jr. to iFL TV on the Khan vs. Brook fight.
“It’s a real 50-50 fight, not a Eubank Jr – Williams 50-5- fight. It’s an actual 50-50 fight. People keep asking me who I think has got it. It is hard.
“On a personal level, I want Khan to win because I really don’t like Kell Brook. In the past, he’s talked a lot of smack and I want to fight him and he says he wants to fight me.
“So on a personal level, I’d prefer that Khan won, but on business perspective, I want Brook to win because I want to fight him,” said Eubank Jr.
“If he loses to Khan, that fight is dead in the water. This is an interesting one, and we’ll see what happens,” said Eubank Jr.
Khan vs. Brook = glorified cash-out
“In England, it’s still a popular and marketable fight,” said Dan Rafael to The Volume about the Khan vs. Brook fight. “It’s going to be a bonanza for them. Sky Box Office, it’s going to be a pay-per-view for them. They’re going to do good business. The arena is sold out.
“They’re treating this like a big fight, even though there are no titles. We all know this is a cash-out fight.
“All their career, Khan and Brook, they’ve fought good opponents. It got to the point where there was nothing left for them to fight where they can make a real payday in a fight that is interesting for the public.
“After many many tries, they’ve finally come together to make this fight, and it’s like ‘loser go home, maybe winner go home.'”
“I think it’s both. I think it’s go home for everybody,” said Chris Mannix on the Khan – Brook clash,
“I get it for why the British public are into it,” said Rafael. “I’m into it for just like I see a car wreck on the side of the road. I look out my window and rubberneck a little bit.
“I’ll be thinking all through this fight, ‘Why didn’t we see this five or six years ago when it literally would have been one of the biggest fights in boxing?’
“If you want to talk about a fight that is past it’s sell-by date, it is as far as the esthetic point of view, but I guess by the public in the UK, it’s not. They want to see the fight, they’re getting the fight.
“It’s later than it should have been We’re going to see it whatever happens. I’ve been watching Sky Sports and some of the YouTube channels, they really think this means something,” said Rafael.
