Khan vs Brook - Who's to blame? Khan
- britishboxingblog
- Jan 28, 2016
- 5 min read
While one could argue too much has been said already, we haven’t really mentioned the elephant in the room. Kell Brook vs Amir Khan apparently still isn’t any closer to actually happening. It feels like both parties have been “in talks” for years and it recently looked to be productive until a public outpouring of blame and insults erupted at the weekend. For what it’s worth, the reported 60/40 split in favour of Khan seems fair and should be enough to get the deal made. Whether it is or not is another matter entirely.
Before we go any further, it is important to put aside any fighter preferences to one side. Hence breaking this opinion piece into two separate sections. I personally feel Brook would win if the two ever did meet but this does not enter into my frustration on it not happening. From an entirely neutral standpoint, it appears to me that both sides have to shoulder some blame for the contest not happening, however it does appear that one side wants it to happen more than the other.
Why this is Khan’s fault:
He has admitted that he was let down by Mayweather on no less than 3 occasions. The first one you can understand, the second time alarm bells should have been ringing and the fact there was even a third time shreds any sympathy he may have had from this writer. Had Khan not decided to pass on Devon Alexander (while he held the IBF strap) in favour of facing…well…no one, he could already be a 147 pound champion and have beaten Kell Brook as a mandatory challenger. Let’s not forget the mandatory purse split of 75/25 in favour of the defending champion in these instances. He would also have held more sway in the competitive welterweight division and possibly been in with a better chance of facing Mayweather. There are a lot of hypothetical factors in there but even without the benefit of hindsight, passing on a world title opportunity in December with a view to a potential mega-fight the following May, was not the wisest choice.
Let’s fast forward a little to August 2014 and Brook travelled over to the States as mandatory IBF challenger (a position he had seemingly held for an eternity) to face undefeated American Shawn Porter. As the Sheffield star won a majority decision, Khan was a guest of Sky Sports in the studio. They promptly put the match up to Bolton’s finest and, when put on the spot, he seemed eager to take the newly crowned champion’s gold (He didn’t look too chuffed when Ryan Rhodes voiced his opinion that Brook would beat him mind!) and it looked like Britain had another mega-fight to look forward to!
Not long after, and it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when, due to the sheer volume of quotes from both sides, but Khan changed his tune. He continued to chase what was widely perceived as an unlikely challenge to the Pound for Pound crown, reverting back to the view that Brook doesn’t deserve to share the same ring as him (The irony of this claim, while him chasing Mayweather shouldn’t be lost). The familiar line is that if Kell gets a couple of big names on his resumé then Amir will do him the favour of making the fight. Or the constant digs that the American public don’t know who Kell Brook is. If Amir was as confident as he claims he could have beaten Brook, taken a massive payday, a world title then continued his career across the Atlantic.
Whether you agree with Khan’s claims or not is irrelevant. Whether Brook faces Khan this year, or if he goes on to clean out the division before doing so, doesn’t make this fight any bigger in the UK. Khan talks about the US PPV market and popularity as though he is Mayweather but the truth is he isn’t as big a draw as he likes to think. His last fight against career Super-Lightweight Chris Algieri reportedly struggled to sell tickets and was shown on a Friday night on free-to-air TV. While Vegas is the fight capital of the world, this potential match isn’t for the Americans. They showed Froch-Groves II stateside but that didn’t help fill Wembley Stadium, or sell the PPV’s over here. Groves hadn’t really fought too far beyond domestic level when he first fought the Cobra. That event was sold on a genuine disliking, some previous controversy and two Brits battling for a world title. Khan-Brook has all of that and a case can be made for both men to emerge victorious. It sells itself!
We recently mentioned on social media that Amir Khan appears to have lost contact with the British fans. It’s worth mentioning that he was nothing but courteous to hundreds who wanted pictures and autographs when we saw him at a recent MGM Edinburgh Fight Night event, however he seems in no rush to challenge himself at his new weight or take the bout the UK clamours for. Since stepping up there has been a strong sense that his opponents have been almost tailor made for his style, yet he still hasn’t overly impressed (see Algieri, Chris). He looked sensational against Devon Alexander and Luis Collazo yet the casual UK fan will barely have registered these victories. And many of the so called “hardcore” merely scoffed.
Regardless of his previous achievements in a lower weight class, Amir Khan has achieved less than Kell Brook at Welterweight.
The same can be said for both men. Due to different reasons, both of their careers are in serious danger of stagnating when they really should be at the peak of their powers. Just another in the seemingly never ending list of reasons why this fight has to happen. As some sort of summary it is depressing that egos are once again preventing a massive fight from taking place. Whichever boxer you support, surely as a boxing fan you want this to happen. For common sense to prevail. Talk of past accomplishments, boxing records or who deserves what is irrelevant. Arguably one of the most talented British boxers of recent times is heading towards purgatory. A current world champion is in need of a massive fight to elevate his status. They don’t like each other. What better way to settle their differences than in the ring in potentially the biggest boxing match the country has ever seen?
There are two sides to every story. Read the other one here.
Commentaires