Amir Khan vs Kell Brook date set after bitter rivals shook hands at Tony Bellew fight, reveals Eddie Hearn
The Matchroom chief has had talks with Team Khan and confirms the all-British bout will be scheduled for March or May 2019
AMIR KHAN AND KELL BROOK have agreed in principal to a much-anticipated clash in 2019, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
Both fighters were in Manchester for Oleksandr Usyk’s win over Tony Bellew on Saturday and are understood to have discussed the bout at ring-side.
A date in early March or late May has been pencilled in for the blockbuster clash which if it does take place will be seven years in the making.
Hearn told : “I think early March is the date that is sort of pencilled at the moment.
“I’ve seen the footage where apparently Amir shook his hand and said ‘Trust me, it’s happening,’ Hearn said.
“Hopefully it is. It’s just whether it goes early March, or late May.”
Speaking to on the confrontation, Brook added: “He’s just seen me. He’s just come up to me, I just come up to him.
“We’ve just met and he’s looked me in the eye, shook my hand and said it is happening. If he starts coming out with something else again, what can I do?”
A clash between the two has been constantly thwarted by spells away from the ring for both fighters, and demands regarding the weight limit for the fight.
Bolton boxer Khan says Brook has agreed to fighting at 147lbs and wants to headline a stadium alongside his Sheffield rival.
“I think it’s time the fight against the Sheffield fighter might happen next,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s what I want next, so let’s make it happen.
“But at the end of the day, I want Kell to get through this fight – and in good style – so it makes our fight even bigger. I hope he doesn’t get beat. If he does our fight’s off.
“I’ve topped bills in America but I’m back in the UK, and it’s nice coming back and topping the bill again. But I don’t just want to top the bill, I want to do something special, so it’s got to be a stadium fight. I want to do it in March. Let’s do that.
“After this fight, he will be back down to welterweight, which makes it even better. We agreed on 147[lbs] and he says he is happy doing it, so let’s make the fight happen.
“There’s no excuses now. I just want this fight so I can put him in his place and shut him up. All the talking he’s been doing all these years, I have been the quiet one, so now it’s time he backs his words up.”
Though talks are at an advanced stage, Brook must come through his clash with Michael Zerefa on December 8 – his first fight since March – before ratifying the deal.
Brook was forced to pull-out of a proposed meeting with Brandon Cook on the undercard of Dillian Whyte’s win over Joseph Parker in July due to an undisclosed injury.
Another hurdle is the re-hydration clause which Khan also wants, which stipulates that fighters cannot weigh more than 157lbs on fight night.
Though the former ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’ contestant had claimed Brook had agreed to the terms, Hearn is not so sure.
The Matchroom chief explained: “It’s something that Amir wants, and it’s something that Kell doesn’t want.
“Someone has got to give, either way, and either say ‘Okay, I will do it, or alright I don’t want that.’
“But I think Amir learned a lesson from the ‘Canelo’ fight, but that was up at middleweight, which is a different kettle of fish.
“I can understand both arguments, but from a rules point of view, there’s no rule why if Kell makes welterweight, why he should have a 10lb hydration clause, unless it’s for an IBF title, or some kind of IBF sanctioned event.”