NO KHAN DO
Kell defeat will wreck my boxing legacy says pumped Amir
AMIR KHAN admits he’s risking his legacy in the sport by fighting Kell Brook.
His wife Faryal Makhdoom only gave him the green light to take the gamble when he proved he was taking the fight seriously.
Khan and Brook, both 35, will finally settle their rivalry tonight at Manchester Arena in a showdown that has been 19 years in the making.
There are no titles on the line for the past their best welterweights but there is a lot to lose in terms of reputation.
Khan won Olympic silver in Athens at age 17 and became a unified light-welterweight champion but should he suffer a sixth loss tonight, he may be remembered better for bowing out in defeat to his bitter rival.
The pair have been bickering since a sparring session as teenage amateurs.
Khan said: “You’re always that one fight away from destroying your whole legacy.
“This is a fight that I could end up losing what I’ve done in my whole career. People will be like, ‘Oh but he got beaten by Kell’.”
Brook, the former IBF welterweight champion, wants to muster one final performance against the man he hates the most in boxing.
To stop that happening, Khan has opted for a complete overhaul of his team.
He had turned to the coach of one of the men who beat him in Terence Crawford’s trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre.
When he lost to Crawford in 2019, Virgil Hunter was in his corner while BoMac was critical of Khan and his career.
But it was Khan’s wife who decided the American coach could be the man to revitalise her husband for the Brook battle.
The Bolton boxer said: “My wife was the one who made the phone call to arrange it all.
“She said I was going to train with BoMac. I thought, ‘I don’t want to train with them because of what has been said’.
“She went, ‘No, trust me, it will be good for you’.”
The decision to go with BoMac was also interesting considering he had plotted Brook’s downfall in his last outing in 2020 when he was stopped by Crawford in four rounds.
Khan said: “When I said to my wife I wanted the Kell Brook fight, she said, ‘Are you sure you want it? I’m only going to let you take it if you’re going to train hard’.
“She would speak to BoMac and ask about my sparring and training, so when she knew I was training really hard she said, ‘Yeah it’s fine’.”
Brook barged past security to get into Khan’s face at yesterday’s weigh-in.
The Sheffield star said: “It’s gonna be exciting, plenty of drama. I’m there to thrill the fans.
“‘I’ve got to stick to the game plan – be cool, calm and collected, and just perform. Do my business. Be electric.”
Khan weighed in at 10st 7lb 5oz with Brook a pound heavier.
They will be allowed to put on up to a stone overnight but any more and they’ll face a £100,000 fine per pound.