War of the Roses waiting on Khan
AMIR KHAN has been offered almost £8million to face Kell Brook.
Khan’s promoter Eddie Hearn has urged him to turn down £3.9m to face WBO welterweight ruler Terence Crawford.
Hearn says Khan, below, will make double facing Brook early next year.
“The offer is already in and what he can make for the fight,” Hearn said. “He has got the Crawford offer, we all know what that is – it’s public. He can make more than double.
“Maybe money is not the be all and end all but you have to take note.”
Hearn’s offer to Bolton’s Khan is a flat fee plus a cut of the pay-per-view revenue should it be more than £7.8m. The Matchroom supremo is still confident the all-British battle will generate huge numbers despite Brook’s laboured win over little-known Australian Michael Zerafa on Saturday. Brook started sharply but was dragged into a battle by the underdog after failing to get an early stoppage in front of a half-empty arena in his home city Sheffield.
“When they get together it will be the biggest thing going because they cannot stand each other,” Hearn said. “It will be the most epic build-up for what will be a totally 50-50 fight. “Are they still in the primes of their careers? There is an argument that Kell is not as good as when he fought Shawn Porter, maybe Amir is not as good as when he boxed Marcos Maidana. But they’re still world-class fighters.
“After that performance by Kell I have to say Amir is the favourite in the fight.
“There is still enough interest to have it in a stadium but you don’t have to do it in a stadium. We could do it in an arena.
“People will forget about that performance two days later. It’s chip paper. People will know about the history and the build-up.”
Khan is expected to make a decision on the Crawford fight in the next week but Brook has agreed to making the welterweight limit and a 10lb rehydration clause on the day of the fight.
Brook said: “All people ever ask me is ‘when will you fight Amir Khan?’ and I am ready. Let’s talk numbers. There is no bigger than Brook versus Khan in Britain, it is war of the roses.”
Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has failed to give a guarantee that boxing will be part of the 2020 Tokyo Games.
“We want to have the boxing in Japan and we will make all efforts to have it,” said Bach, who was asked several times about it as the IOC closed two days of meetings in the Japanese capital to discuss the problem.
Accusations of corruption and malfeasance surrounding the boxing federation that runs the amateur side of the sport (AIBA) have left the future of the noble art up in the air.
A major stumbling block is Gafur Rakhimov of Uzbekistan, who was again elected AIBA president last month despite being on a US Treasury Department sanctions list for alleged criminal activity.