Amir Khan vs Kell Brook

Looks like this long passed it sell by date ‘grudge match’ is finally happening.
Boxxer says date is February 19 and the bout will be at welterweight.
Someone is getting laid out…

If it's at Welterweight then it might favour Khan. Brook looked like he'd been exhumed for the Crawford fight when he got back down to 147 after a few fights at Light-Middle. He could barely keep his eyes open in the post weigh in interview. Sure he'll rehydrate overnight but if he doesn't get Khan out of there early doors he could feel the strain of weight cutting, especially if he's having to follow Khan, which is likely.

Back when this fight would have actually meant something my feeling was always Khan by decision would be the most likely outcome, with a puncher's chance for Brook. Both have been inactive and Brook, being a bit more of a timer than Khan, again might be more negatively affected....But it's so hard to know exactly what kind of condition they'll be in if this happens (basically, hard to tell who is the most shot) that predictions are on a bit of a whim...At least mine is, anyway.

I'll edge towards Khan by decision but no result would surprise me.

Is it possible for them both to lose by kayo?

This is a fight I genuinely don't care about. They are now so far past their sell-by dates it'll almost be as bad as watching Evander "fight".

The public will half win because it'll mean at least one will retire afterwards.

Not interested... The winner retires..

Both have lost their recent meaningful fights...Maybe have Crolla v Burns 2 on the undercard

Won't be paying for it.

149lbs catch weight

Still no announcement on the venue-my feeling is that this wouldn't fill a medium  sized arena.The guy from BOXXER said that this is the second biggest fight in the country right now.I've got a feeling that this will be a real damp squib.

I thought Manchester was confirmed as the venue, Derek?

Speaking of BOXXER, this is Ben Shalom's first promotional foray into the big time (alright, alright, slightly better than medium-sized time) and he's vowed to inject some life back into the scene which has gone stale under Hearn's auspices. There is a perception that, much like Solomons, Duff and Warren before him, Hearn's own cycle of dominance with regards to UK boxing might be nearing its end and that he may have made an error in going with DAZN. Maybe Shalom will be the next go-to guy for the UK's leading fighters.

It'll take more than delivering this past its sell-by date encounter to get him into a dominant position, or to revive boxing on Sky in general....But who knows? After all, Eddie's remarkable and rapid transformation from young pretender to the kingpin of British boxing was all sparked by him delivering the pile of turd which was Harrison-Haye.

Not the Manchester Arena though,surely? I didn't keep up to date with the reason Hearn had for going with DAZN, it seemed like career hari-kari to me. A new outlet with little media presence.At best I think they will be to boxing what "Red Bull" is to Formula One.

Manchester AO, capacity 21,000 .

Have to say however that I'd rather watch this than Boxer v MMA/YouTuber...

Derek Smalls wrote:Not the Manchester Arena though,surely? I didn't keep up to date with the reason Hearn had for going with DAZN, it seemed like career hari-kari to me. A new outlet with little media presence.At best I think they will be to boxing what "Red Bull" is to Formula One.

DAZN has 15 million global subscribers, supposedly and are about to (or have already?) buy out BT Sport. I'd also imagine that on top of the $125m a year they gave Matchroom to put cards together Stateside (as well as at least £20m a year to put cards together in the UK) they probably also gave Hearn some equity since they seem to give everyone equity.

Anyone buying Khan's claims about Eddie wanting this fight and offering bigger money for it? Hard to know as you're talking about two guys in Khan and Hearn who should be taken with a pinch of salt on pretty much anything they say...But would be mildly amusing if true, given Hearn's comments the other day about this fight.

There’s a 163.5lbs rehydration limit at the morning of the fight.

Derek Smalls wrote:Not the Manchester Arena though,surely? I didn't keep up to date with the reason Hearn had for going with DAZN, it seemed like career hari-kari to me. A new outlet with little media presence.At best I think they will be to boxing what "Red Bull" is to Formula One.

I think you’re misinformed on Red Bull’s motorsports pedigree. Red Bull has been associated with many different categories with plenty of success. In addition they are the fifth most successful team in F1 history. They aren’t some flash in the pan.

Yes but you wouldn't get the current world champion moving from say McClaren to Red Bull for the reason being,its fifth most successful.
Got me thinking though, of a crossover sport-boxers in F1.
Amir Khan racing Naseem Hamed would be something that I'd watch pay per view.

Derek Smalls wrote:Yes but you wouldn't get the current world champion moving from say McClaren to Red Bull for the reason being,its fifth most successful.
Got me thinking though, of a crossover sport-boxers in F1.
Amir Khan racing Naseem Hamed would be something that I'd watch pay per view.

Errol Spence Jr & Naseem Hamed = Pastor Maldonado

Or Zachary Quinto and Greg Rusedski, perhaps?
Emergency swerving back to boxing- the fight seems to have received blanket disinterest from the media.Brook does at least always look superbly conditioned. Khan seems to look a bit soft around the abdomen these last five or so years and my suspicion is that he is not a person who trains much between his occasional fight.So on that basis I would not fancy Khan in a longer fight.

I think Kell Brook holds a grudge but Amir Khan is not that interested. Maybe Amir Khan had other goals and targets than Kell Brook. It has been said Brook should have focused on himself rather than chasing a fight with Khan.

I think Khan does hold a genuine grudge if the algorithmically delivered videos that YouTube send me is anything to go by. He's a dummy, so holding on to the insult from some standard baiting is not much of a surprise.
Conor Benn showing an interest also, it's win win win for these guys, falling fortuitously as it does into the lap of Benn, who with one decent display gets the hype machine rolling.

Anyone else really bored of this trend of interviewing fighters' dads, wives, brothers etc. before every semi-big fight? I wouldn't mind so much if they were all a part of the training camp or negotiations but Jesus, talk about overkill. Khan's other half got an interview on Sky the other day!

Anyway, ranting aside. Did anyone see the interview with Brook's old man? I couldn't make it all the way through but he repeatedly mentioned how this fight has 'haunted their lives' for years and how much it's cost Kell. Kind of backs up the point that I and several others have made about Brook spending way too long playing it safe and developing an unhealthy obsession over this fight at the detriment to his overall career. The 'Khan or Nothing' approach was ludicrous when you consider how many other attractive and competitive fights there were around for Brook at Welterweight between roughly 2012 and 2016. So frustrating to hear him talking like that.

He never 'needed' the Khan fight, especially after beating Porter in 2014 for the IBF. We'd have all loved to see it in 2015 (the timing then would have been perfect with both Brook and Khan coming off big wins and performances against Porter and Alexander respectively), but once it became clear that Khan was trying to wait it out for a Mayweather / Pacquiao / Canelo payday Brook and his team should have just cut their losses and started targeting Garcia, Thurman, Bradley, Broner, Maidana etc. instead. A couple of big wins against those guys and it would have been Khan desperate for a shot at him, rather than vice versa.

I actually do think that the bitterness on Brook's side is genuine and he's hurt at how things have panned out for him these past few years. Remains to be seen whether that'll be a positive or negative for him in this fight. I always felt his power was slightly overrated in some quarters (which is why I tended to go with Khan to beat him and didn't quite buy into this idea that all he had to do was land one telling shot) and if he goes wading in too aggressively it could be a mistake. Based on the Dib fight, Khan's hand speed and body punching (basically the two main strengths which helped cover up his weaknesses) still seem to be there...But that will be two-and-a-half years ago by the time the bell rings for this and, with all due respect, Dib had no business being in that ring with him anyway.

Excellent post Chris... Spot on.

Think Khan didn't want to lose to a fellow Countryman though he had a good chance of winning.

Brook is a wasted talent....Thought he had the beating of Spence till the eye went...Looked good against GGG too before it went there as well...Few looked good against Golovkin back then.

Who knows what he could have done if the ordinary Gavin types weren't getting shots..

The Porter win looks better and better over time.

Matchmaking is an art form....I guess...I also guess SKY paid big money for this fight so the cats and dogs will get interviewed next.

Problem with fights like this is that all these millions and nowhere to go win or lose does make you worry one will get pulled out early by their corner..Ambition is at a premium as whoever loses can say they were past it etc  

After all when you win the lottery...You want your faculties in place to spend it.

More likely to be Brook pulled out...

Khan wins by retirement at the end of seven...Not buying it though I'm tempted.

I think a lot of it depends on Brook's ability to hit Khan on the chin, and also whether Khan's speed is still with him. If it is, then Brook could be in for a painful and potentially embarrassing evening.

I have no love for Khan - in fact I think he and his "influencer" Mrs are horrid examples of today's nouveaux riche that seem to attract fans for simply putting on a fake public facade that shows you how much money they have. I recognise that he's rather talented but he does have that fragility that only a glass jaw can bring, which does make his fights generally exciting to watch if you don't care if he loses or not.

Brook knows that he's at the end of his career, and I feel that his only chance will be to jump all over Khan to try and end it early. If he lands, then it's his fight. If not, Khan will probably win as Truss says above, by corner retirement. Trouble is, if he does we'll never hear the end of it from Khan, his god-awful Mrs, his Doctor, his Mum, his second cousin twice removed and his best friend from junior school. And they WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT IT.

So come on Kell. #teambrook #please

History of "Big" fights with one fighter near the end cashing out..

Spinks v Tyson...Shouldn't think Spinks ever thought about winning that fight. 215 ??...10 pounds heavier than the Larry fight and most of it around his waist..

Douglas v Holy.. Career Journeyman that won the lottery coming in at 245 and finding a comfortable place to lie down for 25m.

Benn v Collins...Benn might have had a go early but the last payday with faculties kicked in...If not with him then with his corner.

This fight we have two fighters in a big fight with their careers behind them..

Worth thinking about...Look at the undercard before purchasing in my humble opinion..

Or don't.