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British boxers Amir Khan and Kell Brook will settle a long-running rivalry at the Manchester Arena on February 19. A capacity crowd in the thousands will be boosted by the millions watching worldwide as two of the biggest names in the sport finally come to blows. Critics suggest the clash is happening a decade too late with both men already past their prime, but Khan is a man determined to put on a show and grab the win needed to get his career back on track.
The major names in betting – from sportsbooks of the UK high street to the leading sports betting in Florida – have priced Kell “Special K” Brook as the hot favourite, with traders picking the former welterweight world champion as the most likely winner of this bout. Underdog Amir “King” Khan is also a former world champion, ruling at light-welterweight. The fighting pride of Bolton didn’t get to the top by paying attention to the predictions of his doubters, and he’s not about to start now.
The 39-bout veteran has been in a bullish mood during recent press conferences, threatening to not only beat Brook but finish his career, finally forcing him into retirement by dishing out a devastating knockout. With 21 KOs already on his record, there’s plenty of weight behind that claim, but his opponent is no slouch in the power department either. Kell carries a 64% KO average into bout 43 of his professional career, meaning the scene is set for a thrilling contest.
AK makes a chilling promise
In a press conference this week, Khan spoke of his opponent’s recent injury woes following a well-documented broken eye socket that led to him losing two fights back to back against Gennady Golovkin and Errol Spence Jr, both inside the distance. But Khan’s recent record isn’t exactly dazzling with two defeats in his last five outings, both by sixth-round stoppage.
That sketchy spell of form began when moving up through the divisions to challenge Saul Alvarez for the world middleweight title. Canelo won that match easily, relying on his size and power to take Khan out without encountering too much resistance, other than a few stinging jabs in the early rounds. Amir bounced back with a pair of wins but was beaten in six by another pound for pound legend of the game in Terence Crawford, taken out at Madison Square Garden in New York almost three years ago.
We last saw Khan in action when scoring a routine but timely return to the winner’s enclosure when dealing with Billy Dib inside four rounds in Jeddah. That was a fight the Englishman was expected to win, and he had no trouble living up to predictions, but he faces a major step up in class here. Brook is a level or two above Dib, so Amir must be at his best to enhance his record of 34 wins against five defeats.
Brook aims to use his advantages
Kell is a naturally bigger and stronger fighter with more experience. He has spent most of his career boxing at welterweight, a division he ruled when winning the IBF title with a 12-round majority points decision over Shawn Porter at the StubHub Center in Carson. That was a scrappy fight with the skills of both cancelling each other out, but there could be no denying the winner with Brook taking the championship belt back to the UK.
Special K prepares for his fight with Khan carrying a 39-3-0 record with 27 wins by knockout and all three losses inside the distance. He was stopped inside five rounds by Triple G, 11 rounds by Spence Jr and, last time out, four rounds by Crawford. That loss to Bud came in November 2020 at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, with the WBO welterweight title on the line. Another heartbreaking loss and over a year on the sidelines is due to take its toll on Kell, but will that inactivity cost him here?
The stats show Brook hasn’t won a fight since stopping Mark DeLuca in seven rounds at the Sheffield Arena two years ago. He hasn’t travelled 12 rounds, winning over the championship distance since beating Michael Zerafa in November 2018. Serious question marks are hanging over the favourite’s punch resistance and fitness.