Amir Khan boxing news
Top Rank chief Bob Arum is currently in the UK to discuss options for some of his fighters and has held a meeting over the weekend with Matchroom Sport chief Barry Hearn, father of Eddie, ostensibly with a view to making match-ups for Matchroom world champions Kell Brook and Scott Quigg.
On his twitter account on Sunday, the elder Hearn posted a picture of himself with the long-time Top Rank chief alongside the caption, “Great evening with an old friend. Lots to talk about!”
Britain’s former 2 weight world champ Ricky Hatton, who himself boxed both Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas, has spoken out to the ‘expressandstar.com’ to suggest that if “jilted bride” Amir Khan cannot secure the mega fights he craves with either of the two P4P giants, then he should just do what most right thinking fans want him to do – fight IBF 147 lb champion Kell Brook.
Khan has ostensibly talked himself out of a Floyd fight for good, even if “Money” goes for the 50-0, and so has now turned his attentions to trying to secure a big-money fight against the now 37 year old Filipino star instead.
In response to pleas from British fans in particular, Khan keeps saying he will fight Brook at some point “in the future,” when the champion fights what he deems big enough names.
After his relentless chasing of the Mayweather fight left, that for all intents and purposes amounted to glorified begging, Britain’s Amir Khan may just land a mega-money fight yet, seeing as cash, rather than public image and reputation seems to be “King” to Amir.
Sure, he won’t make the money he would’ve fighting Mayweather, though he can still bank a career high payday by fighting what is ostensibly the “next best thing” in former Wild Card stablemate and Filipino superstar, Manny Pacquiao.
Speaking in Britain’s Telegraph.co.uk newspaper, Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who looks after Pacquiao, has said that a fight between the two former teammates should be easy enough to put together.
There can’t have been many fighters more disappointed than Britain’s Amir Khan when the Mayweather/Berto fight was officially announced earlier this week.
Khan, a former Olympic silver medalist and 140 lb world champion, has been desperately and very publicly trying to goad Floyd into a fight with him for the better part of 2 years, yet has found himself being consistently overlooked by “Money” throughout that time.
If his fight with friend and rival Shawn Porter doesn’t come off as soon as he or the fans would like, then Florida’s Keith Thurman has turned the screws on Britain’s Amir Khan once more, telling assembled media repeatedly over the weekend that he would like to test the Bolton man’s chin in the ring.
Thurman had been upset by comments Khan made referencing their respective wins over New Yorker Luis Collazo, in which Khan suggested Thurman doesn’t have the one punch power his ring moniker would have you believe.
Should he come through his much maligned PBC on ESPN clash with Paulie Malignaggi on Saturday, then Danny “Swift” Garcia has stated that a rematch with Britain’s Amir Khan is a very real possibility, although ideally his main goal at 147 lbs would be to try and win another world title and become a two weight world champion, meaning a clash with IBF champion Kell Brook is also possible in the near future.
After all his pitiful Floyd Mayweather chasing came to nothing – with the P4P king looking at a ‘soft’ defence against Andre Berto in September – Britain’s Amir Khan is being forced to look at other options, and has insisted that 2016 is going to be his year, with a potential fight against the returning Manny Pacquiao possible for Dubai.
Speaking to the National, Khan insisted;
“There have been talks of an Amir Khan fight in Dubai for many years now,. Everyone knows my position: I am ready to fight if they are serious about it. Bob Arum has contacted my team to fight Manny Pacquiao around March or April in Dubai. Let’s see how that develops.
Although there has yet to be any ‘official’ announcement regarding Floyd Mayweather’s September 12th opponent, the consensus in the boxing world is that Florida’s Andre Berto has got the call to be Mayweather’s 49th dance partner, and Britain’s Amir Khan – who had been so desperately pleading for the fight – has been left on the sidelines, jilted before he even got to the altar.
It would seem to most right-thinking fans that the best fight for both men would be an all-British clash between Khan and current IBF 147 lb champion Kell Brook, yet Khan has been aggressively insistent that he feels the champion is undeserving of a fight against him, given he thinks he is the bigger name and attraction (having fought at a higher level) in spite of him not being a current, reigning world champion.
After Amir Khan’s recent comments regarding Kell Brook, one has a feeling it will be an exercise in futility, yet Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn has gone on record to say that he plans on making an offer to Khan later this week for a November super fight between the two Brits, which in the unlikely event it’s accepted, would give Khan the opportunity to answer his own question “Do I have to put a beating on Kell Brook to prove I’m the better fighter?”
In his most recent chat with iFLtv, Khan said the above and more, repeating his insistence that he feels IBF welterweight champion Brook has done nothing to deserve a shot at him and simply “isn’t a big enough name.”
Before last night’s “High Stakes” card in Manchester, fans were expecting an announcement from IBF 147 lb champion Kell Brook – who was sat ringside alongside promoter Eddie Hearn – regarding his next fight in October. Although the announcement failed to materialise, there was a rather awkward moment when the big screen in the arena flashed to welterweight rival Amir Khan backstage before shooting across to Brook, who hadn’t realised immediately that Khan was in the building or that the camera had now focused in on him.