KT Exclusive: Amir Khan wants 
to put Brook in his place

The battle lines have well and truly been drawn. Two-time world boxing champion Amir Khan has thrown down the gauntlet, seeking a fight with Kell Brook. But it remains to be seen if the latter will take the bait.

A possible bout between the Britons has been talked about for a while now but it has remained just a pipe dream.

But Khan reignited it and stoked the fire by making a huge statement and it remains to be seen if Brook responds.

“I think with Kell Brook, who has always been running his mouth, I think put him in his place now. I think it is about time now to put him in his place and shut him up for good,” Khan told the Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview.

Khan, who is the president of the newly formed World Boxing Council Middle East, was in Dubai to support the Rising Stars initiative through WBC Cares and the Amir Khan Foundation.

Khan, the unified light-welterweight champion, holds a 34-5 record with 21 KOs. His last bout was against Australian Billy Dib for the vacant WBC International welter title, which he won by TKO at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last year.

Brook, meanwhile, is coming off a defeat against American Terence Crawford in a WBO world welter title bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, last month.

Khan turned 34 earlier this month but reiterated he still has a lot left in the tank and retirement hasn’t crossed his mind.

“No, no, the gloves are still on,” Khan said when asked if he was contemplating hanging up his gloves.

“I’m thinking of fighting probably next year. This year was a bit of a bad year for everybody. And boxing was off. They wanted to fight behind closed doors. I didn’t really feel like I could motivate myself, but hopefully, if it opens up next year, we can make something happen. I want to fight again around March or April and there are so many names out there, there are so many deals on the table, in the Middle East as well. So, let’s see how that plays out.

“I enjoy the sport, still. Honestly, I would be lost without it. I love waking up in the morning, training, running. My life is all about boxing and I’ve never really thought about retiring. It’s hard for me to walk away from it,” he added.

Khan has often been quite vocal about helping the sport grow in the region and through his new role, he hopes to do just that.

“With me becoming the president of the WBC Middle East, it gives me the opportunity now to horse pick events over here, bring the biggest events over here in the Middle East area. We know that there are big events happening in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Formula One. So, there are other big events happening here, so why not boxing? So, Maurizio (Sulaiman), the president of the World Boxing Council, said you can take the Middle East area and hopefully we can develop boxing around here. With my new role, I can help promote boxing in the Middle East — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia — and also help bring the next champion because we have never had a champion from the Middle East. So, why not produce a champion with the help of WBC,” felt Khan.

james@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai
• UK