Whether it is Kell Brook or Manny Pacquiao next, only Amir Khan’s most unreasonable detractors will begrudge him the blockbuster stadium fight his career so richly deserves. Few fighters have entertained so much and taken so many knocks while doing so. Win or lose, Khan almost always delivers.
Saturday’s victory over Samuel Vargas in Birmingham was Khan’s career in miniature. He was a whirl of dazzling combinations in round one, on the seat of his pants in round two, came close to stopping his rival in round five and was wobbled in round 10, before coming on strong and seeing it through.
As a whole, Khan’s career could provide the template for a Choose Your Own Adventure book: win Olympic medal, go straight to bank; get ironed out by journeyman, go back to drawing board; get ironed out by big beast in Vegas, go back to the wilderness; shake the dice and roll again. But only if you dare.
“I want a super-fight with a massive name and I’d love it in a stadium,” said Khan, after only his third bout since 2015, and having improved his professional record to 33 wins, 20 by knockout, and four defeats. “I still love training, still love to learn and still want to fight the best.”
Khan’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, says dates are pencilled in for December, with Cardiff’s Principality Stadium the possible venue. Both Brook and Pacquiao are willing to dance. Who Khan picks out will come down to the readies. “Either Brook or Pacquiao will generate £20m,” he said. “They bring the same gate, Brook might do more pay-per-view buys in the UK, Pacquiao attracts more international money. But Manny will want more than Kell will want.”
The Bolton fighter, now 31, seems to be leaning towards Pacquiao, the former seven-weight world champion who was a sparring partner when both were trained by Freddie Roach in the US. Pacquiao is 39, has had 69 paid fights and is not the fighter he was. It is the last part of that sentence which will appeal to Khan most.
In addition, a victory over Pacquiao, who looked almost like his old self stopping Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur in July, would more likely unlock the American market. All four welterweight world champions are from the US – Shawn Porter (WBC), Keith Thurman (WBA), Errol Spence (IBF) and Terence Crawford (WBO) – and all four are formidable opponents.
Pacquiao is a free agent and Hearn is keen to sign him to his American streaming service DAZN. But Pacquiao’s purse demands mean a fight with Khan would require funding, which means it would probably take place outside of the UK.
Khan and Brook have been circling each other for years. That the fight has not taken place is largely down to mutual loathing by the cross-Pennine rivals. However, both men are now promoted by Hearn. In addition, Brook is no longer a world champion, having lost his IBF welterweight belt to Spence last May. As such, Hearn believes Brook would be willing to take the thin end of a purse split.
Brook, 32, jumped two weight divisions to fight the fearsome middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin in 2016 and his last outing was at light-middleweight (154lb). Khan says he is not willing to budge an ounce, but Hearn thinks Brook would be willing and able to drop back down to 147lb.
“Kell’s best weight is about 150lb but over 16 weeks he can make 147lb,” said Hearn. “It’s not ideal, but there are big fights at welterweight. That’s not really the case at light-middle. Brook wants a super-fight in December, so if Khan fights Pacquiao instead, I would like Brook to be guaranteed the winner.”
Khan has not held a world title since 2012, when he was stopped by American Danny Garcia. He suffered a devastating knockout defeat by Canelo Álvarez in 2016, when challenging for the Mexican’s WBC middleweight title. Brook’s two successive defeats, by Golovkin and Spence, had many suggesting he was damaged goods.
There is no question a fight between Khan and Brook would have made more sense a few years ago, but it is still an enthralling prospect. Khan’s main weakness has never really been a suspect chin, but rather a seemingly irredeemable imprudence. But that is what makes him so watchable.
For his part, Brook will not mind chasing shadows for a few rounds and taking a few licks, because Khan takes risks, and plenty of them. You would fancy Brook to win it. Win or lose, Khan should be praised for all he has done.