All roads lead to tonight for Amir Khan and Kell Brook...

All of the achievements, the world titles they’ve both won, the big names they’ve both beat seem irrelevant going into the long-awaited fight between Kell Brook and Amir Khan tonight. Whilst what they have both achieved should not be forgotten, the rivalry between the two is so fierce and been talked about so much for so long it really does seem that it is all just about this. 

Amir Khan’s silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens at 17 years old really is a distant memory now. Brook’s career-best performance in beating Shawn Porter seems a hell of a long time ago too. They’re both brilliant fighters in their own right but their names have been synonymous with each other for a good 10 years now. A potential fight between them was actually first mentioned 17 years ago in the Boxing News magazine. Back then it was still the same situation as it is now - Amir Khan the big name star and Kell Brook, the fighter, calling his name wanting a fight. Brook, to be fair to him though, has become a British boxing star in his own right since then but he himself feels and says he’s been in Khan’s shadow. This is why the fight you can clearly see means so much more to him. 

As I said, what they’ve achieved and who they’ve beat doesn’t seem to be a factor in this fight. Definitely not anywhere near as much as two guys in their prime. When predicting a fight between two fighters in their prime or at least physically still on top, you look at their record and their form and go from there. But there’s so many question marks around these two men as fighters in early 2022. Khan has been out of the ring for 2 and a half years and his last fight was against a guy that is easily forgotten about. His previous bout to that was a disappointing loss to Terence Crawford when Khan quit in the 6th round. Brook’s last outing was in late 2020 and that too was against Terence Crawford. Brook boxed well for a couple of rounds but then got splattered around the ring after a super sharp jab/left hook from the American pound for pound contender. 

It seems unfair though to just talk about what these two guys have done recently because that hasn’t been impressive. Their rivalry is so intently wanted by the fans for a reason and that was because back in the day they were two brilliant British boxers. Khan was a star from 17 years of age after that remarkable achievement in the Olympics and he continued that success in the pros. Despite having some downfalls he became world champion at 140lb and beat the likes of Malignaggi, Maidana, Judah and Devon Alexander. 

Then you have Brook, who at one point entered the world pound for pound top 10 after his super impressive win over Shawn Porter back in 2014 to win the IBF welterweight world title. He was on top of the world at that moment, in a brilliant position. But average and lazy matchmaking, followed by in hindsight maybe foolish matchmaking ruined any momentum the Sheffield man had. Wins over Jo Jo Dan, Frankie Gavin and Kevin Bizier were followed by two hard-hitting losses to Gennady Golovkin and Errol Spence Jr. In those two consecutive fights Brook consecutively had an eye socket broken, one either side. It looked then like the man might be done, but he showed champions heart to get back in the ring and get back chasing the big fights, mainly Amir ‘King’ Khan. A fight he has so desperately wanted for so long.

That fight comes tonight. 

A lot is riding on this for both men. Maybe more for Brook, most people would say, but Khan still really can’t afford to lose this. He knows this is what many people (casual fans especially) in the UK will remember him for. Similar to David Haye and his losses to Tony Bellew, and this rivalry runs even deeper, much deeper. 

It’s hard to give a prediction. Both men are super confident and say this is the best they’ve ever felt but that’s what a fighter should be and what a fighter should say. In reality we don’t know how either will look and how either will hold up in the ring. Either man can win this and that’s what makes it even more intriguing. Some will say it should have happened years ago, that is probably true, but it’s still huge now and everyone will still be watching, no matter what they tell you. Every boxing fan has had an opinion on who wins this match-up for a long time. Your prediction, like mine, may have changed a few times over the years. Early days I would have said Khan, around 2013-2015 I would have been sure Brook wins but now after the gruelling years Brook has had since I lean slightly back towards Amir. You could say it means even more now because it could very well be the last fight of both men’s career. From young promising prospects to champions of the world, to old big names. Everything has lead to this. The fight we’ve all wanted for years happens tonight and the adrenaline and intensity will hit an all-time high in the Manchester arena tonight when Khan and Brook finally stop talking and face off in the ring.

Jack at The Boxing Blog