Amir Khan is expected to fight Danny Garcia following surgery on his broken hand BEFORE taking on Kell Brook later in 2017
The 30-year old boxer could meet his old American foe Garcia in a rematch five years on from their initial clash in Las Vegas
AMIR KHAN could fight WBC welterweight champion Danny Garcia in a rematch before hosting the eagerly anticipated showdown with Kell Brook, SunSport can reveal.
The 30-year old boxer, who underwent a career saving operation in the summer, could put his new right hand to the test against Garcia as his mandatory challenger in the spring.
Although Khan is keen to make both fights happen next year, and he has publicly reaffirmed his desire to take on Brook, Khan’s comeback may be against the American Garcia, who has unbeaten record of 33 wins and 19 KOs.
Sources close to Khan have confirmed that ‘positive’ negotiations with Brook’s team are still ongoing and have been past on to Khan’s lawyers whilst the Bolton-born boxer continues his training camp in San Francisco.
SunSport’s source said: “A fight as big as this is obviously going to take a considerable amount of time to finalise.
“This is a fight that Amir wants to happen in 2017 but there’s still a possibility he will fight Danny Garcia first.
“Khan vs Brook is definitely a fight that will take place in the UK if a deal is agreed and Amir’s preference would be at somewhere like Wembley Stadium in London,” the source continued.
“Either way, it’s unlikely any sort of announcement on Amir’s next opponent will be made in the next week.”
In an exclusive interview with SunSport in November, the former two-weight world champion revealed that he was eyeing a comeback before Ramadan, in either April or May.
But with undefeated welterweight hotshots Garcia and Keith Thurman set to meet in a world title unification clash on March 4th in New York, it’s unsure whether Garcia would be ready in time to face Khan.
Khan has been absent from the ring since May when WBC middleweight champion Saul Alvarez dealt a brutal sixth round knockout blow when the pair met in the stellar Las Vegas after stepping up two weight classes.
Whilst Khan will be only too pleased to return to the ‘comfortable’ 147lb category, he believes fellow Brit, Brook will
struggle to drop back down to the welterweight limit after having challenged Gennady Golovkin at middleweight in September.