GLOVES OFF FOR KHAN AND BROOK AHEAD OF CLASH
British boxers in war of words at event to announce ‘blockbuster’ February
AMIR KHAN and Kell Brook are set to clash in an all-British blockbuster bout on February 19 next year in Manchester.
But even before the first punch can be thrown, tensions between the two stars reached boiling point when they met at a pre-bout press conference on Monday (29), with the pair shoving their foreheads together and exchanging verbal barbs.
Security guards were needed to haul the former world champions apart.
A war of words began with Brook saying: “That’s when (their fight) Amir Khan will hit the deck for the final time.”
Brook accused Khan of ducking him for over a decade and not giving him the respect he deserved.
“He’s always veered off, never given me respect, never acknowledged me,” said the Sheffield fighter.
“He has said, ‘Win a world title then I will fight you, fight this guy then I will fight you’. He has run away.
“It has got to a part of his career where there is nowhere else for him to run. “I have wanted it for many years.” Khan shot back, saying he has never run away from this fight.
“In the past 10 years, I have fought two of the best pound-for-pound best fighters (in Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez). I have never run from Kell, I have never needed to. What I have achieved speaks for itself.
“There is no point crying about the past. In the past, he hasn’t deserved this fight. Come February 19 it will be time to see if he can back those words up.”
Khan added that earlier he did not see Brook as a worthy opponent.
“I am coming levels down by taking this fight. I have fought the best in the world. I have conquered America.
“But people want to see me punch him in the face. It’s my time now to put him in his place and move onto bigger and better things.”
When he heard Khan’s words, Brook shouted back at the Bolton boxeer in the press conference. “He’s in cuckoo land.
“You are getting knocked clean out. I will knock you spark out.”
Khan replied: “It’s easy to talk a big game. You are very bitter. You’ve always had that bitterness.”
Brook then mocked his opponent’s “celebrity status”, but Khan hit back by saying, “You are half retired now. You look overweight!”
Khan, 34, last fought in July 2019 when he beat Australian Billy Dib. On the other hand, Brook was in action last year where he lost to American WBO champion Terence Crawford.
Both argued about agreeing upon a weight division – Khan insisted on welterweight, while Brook said he was not willing to shed more weight.
Their rivalry goes back a long way as teenage amateur boxers. Khan claimed in the early days he used to “school” Brook. However, Brook’s trainer Dominic Ingle warned: “It is a matter of time until he lands. He still has speed and power.”
Ben Shalom, the promoter of the fight,
was quoted as saying: “These are two icons of the sport. Both have conquered the world. Both won world titles.
“They come in with learnings from the big fights, from the mistakes that they
have made. But they come in at exactly the same position and that’s why this is so compelling.
“Finally we will find out – is it Brook or Khan [who will be on top]?”