Better late than never? Khan and Brook to finally meet in long-awaited showdown

Plus notes: WBC decision; Zurdo preps for Gonzalez; Quick hits

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About five or six years ago a showdown between British rivals Amir Khan, a former unified junior welterweight titleholder, and then-welterweight titlist Kell Brook would have been considered a mega fight.

There were various negotiations for the bout over the years, some that even got very close to being finalized, but it never happened.

Khan would go on to be knocked out cold by Canelo Alvarez in a middleweight title fight in 2016 and dominated in a sixth-round stoppage challenging Terence Crawford for his welterweight title in 2019 in a fight most viewed as the end of road for him getting top fights.

Brook would move up in weight to challenge Gennadiy Golovkin for his middleweight title in 2016 and get his face broken in a fifth-round knockout loss and then, in his next fight in 2017, returned to welterweight and lost his title to Errol Spence Jr., who broke the other side of his face in an 11th-round knockout. Three lesser wins followed for Brook, who then got stopped by Crawford in four rounds in a welterweight title bout last November, a loss that signaled to most that his career near the top was also over.

But now, with nowhere else to go, and no fight for which to make a significant payday, it’s cash out time for Brook and Khan, who will finally meet on Feb. 19 at a contract weight of 149 pounds — an accommodation to Brook — at the AO Arena in Manchester, England, Sky Sports and Boxxer announced on Monday.

They met at a news conference to hype the over-the-hill fight, which will headline a Sky Box Office pay-per-view in the United Kingdom. Of course, they had to be separated when they faced off and Brook shoved his forehead into Khan’s.

“I think we've just seen why this fight never happened,” Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom said after the near fisticuffs. “The past five months have been exhausting with both teams to try and get this over the line but it’s a dream come true. We’ve got two icons of the sport and (they are still) the two best welterweights in this country by a long way. I think people forget that. 

“This is a massive fight for us to be involved in and I just want to say thank you to the fighters, because they had offers from everywhere, but both of them wanted it to be in the U.K. and to have it at the Manchester Arena. It’s a huge, huge thing for the British sport and it’s a huge thing for the fans. They've won world titles, they've done everything. But this fight just meant too much to both fighters. This is more than world titles. This is legacy.”

The fight will mark the first Sky Sports pay-per-view fight since Matchroom Boxing left the broadcaster at the end of its contract in June to move all of its content in the U.K. and Ireland to DAZN and was replaced by Boxxer and Top Rank.

Khan (34-5, 21 KOs), 34, and Brook (39-3, 27 KOs), 35, blamed each other through the years for the fight not happening sooner but both said they were pleased it would finally happen.

“I'm ecstatic that the fans are gonna see this fight what they've wanted to see for years,” Brook said. “Feb. 19 in Manchester is when Amir Khan will hit the deck for the final time.

“It's been so frustrating for me. I've been wanting this for many years. He’s never given me respect, he’s never acknowledged me, he’s always run away and now at this part of his career there’s nowhere else for him to run, so now he wants to fight.”

Khan, who has faced many top opponents, including Canelo, Crawford, Devon Alexander, Danny Garcia, Lamont Peterson, Zab Judah, Marcos Maidana and a faded Marco Antonio Barrera, disputed Brook’s take on the situation.

“I’ve never run from Kell, never needed to,” Khan said. “My achievement in the sport speaks for itself. We're here now. There’s no point crying about the past. In the past I don't think he deserved the fight. Now it’s come to a stage where I am waiting to give him a big shot — in the face. All that big talk he’s been doing — I’m gonna do this, I'm gonna do that — come Feb. 19 we will see what he can do and how he can back those words up.

“I am coming levels down, taking this fight. I have fought the best in the world. I’ve conquered America. To give the British fans this fight, I am coming levels down. The people want to see this fight. The people want to see me punch him in the face. It's time to put him in his place and hopefully move on to bigger and better things. This is the biggest fight in Britain aside from AJ (Anthony Joshua) and (Tyson) Fury. It’s being talked about everywhere. People want to see that fight and I decided that we should make that fight. Let’s put the gloves on and settle it. I respect him as a fighter. Anyone who steps in that square circle I respect, but this fight won’t go the 12 rounds.”

Brook predicted a knockout and said he was sick of people asking him about the fight.

“I’ve been in with the pound-for-pound best in the world,” Brook said. “This is an easy fight for me.”

WBC decision

The WBC was recently part of a meeting that brought together the presidents of all four major sanctioning bodies to discuss various issues, including an attempt to standardize the mandatory process for unified champions with the goal to have in 2023 a single procedure to establish mandatory bouts and a title elimination system for those with more than one title.

On Monday, the WBC announced that its board of governors began addressing those situations.

“We hereby inform promoters, managers, and broadcasters that we have initiated a process to establish the mandatory fights for unified and undisputed champions,” the WBC said in a statement. “We are announcing that whoever participates in an elimination, semifinal elimination, or final elimination bout for the privilege of mandatory status of a division, the winner might be subject to fight the mandatory opponent of another sanctioning organization in case there is a unification fight or there is a unified champion in the division.

“Such a bout will be considered a final elimination, with the ultimate goal being to create a common mandatory contender to the unified champion. The appropriate language will be included in all sanctioning letters so that the participating boxers are aware of how the mandatory status will be determined whenever there is a unification. This new concept will create higher level of opposition with proven mandatory contenders, and will also allow unified champions to have greater activity instead of having to fight mandatories of each organization. Nobody wants boxers to lose their titles for lack of compliance with the rules.”

Zurdo focused on Gonzalez

Former super middleweight world titlist and current light heavyweight contender Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez has been chasing a fight with light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol and he has a chance to become his mandatory challenger as long as he defeats Yunieski Gonzalez (21-3, 17 KOs) in their title eliminator on Dec. 18 (DAZN, 7 p.m. ET) in the main event of a Golden Boy Promotions card at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

But Ramirez (42-0, 28 KOs), 28, of Mexico, said he is trying to put that possible fight out of his mind and focus strictly on the power-punching Gonzalez (21-3, 17 KOs), 36, a Cuban defector fighting out of Miami, who has won three fights in a row since ending a 3½-year layoff in 2020.

“I never look past any of my opponents, so I don’t have to avoid looking past Gonzalez in this fight,” Ramirez said. “I know Gonzalez is a come-forward fighter who likes to bang and fight, so I need to be careful with my approach. Just like any other fighter, my preparation for this fight has not changed. My team and I are still focused and never look beyond what’s in front of me.

“He’s been a problem to others, so I’ll need to be my best. No fighters are the same. I know Gonzalez likes to come forward more than your traditional Cuban fighter, but who knows what his style will look like on fight night? I’m preparing for all possibilities and hope to put on a show for the fans on Dec. 18th. I’m confident in my training and preparation for this fight. I’m ready for an all-out war, or a great boxing match. But, as always, I’m looking to finish him and get the KO victory.”

Ramirez has won all three of his light heavyweight fights by knockout since moving up in weight in 2019, including an impressive fourth-round destruction of longtime contender Sullivan Barrera, who is also Cuban, in his last bout on July 9.

Quick hits

The fight between middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr. (31-2, 23 KOs), 32, of England, and Liam Williams (23-3-1, 18 KOs), 29, of Wales, has been postponed. It was due to headline the Sky Sports’ Boxxer card on Dec. 11 at Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales. However, it has been rescheduled for Jan. 29 at the same venue because Williams aggravated the shoulder injury he suffered during a unanimous decision loss challenging WBO titlist Demetrius Andrade in April. According to Boxxer’s announcement, “Following a series of scans and consultations with medical experts, Williams has been advised that the flare-up can be treated without surgery and that the bout can take place at the end of January.”

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Undisputed women’s welterweight champion Jessica McCaskill’s defense against former lightweight titlist Victoria Bustos (22-6, 0 KOs), 32, of Argentina, slated to be the co-feature of the fight between WBC lightweight titlist Devin Haney and interim titlist Joseph Diaz Jr. on Saturday (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, is off, a source with knowledge of the situation told Fight Freaks Unite on Monday. Bustos was unable to get into the United States for the fight and Matchroom Boxing has secured former junior welterweight title challenger Kandi Wyatt (10-3, 3 KOs), 30, of Calgary, Canada, who has dropped two fights in a row by decision, to step in and face McCaskill (10-2, 3 KOs), 37, of Chicago, the source said.

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WBC women’s heavyweight titlist Hannah Gabriels (21-2-1, 12 KOs), 38, of Costa Rica, has come down with Covid-19, forcing her to withdraw from her first defense versus Danielle Perkins (3-0, 1 KO), 39, of Houston. The fight was scheduled to take place on Thursday at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York as part of the Triller Fight Club card on FITE, which is headlined by heavyweight contender Michael Hunter (20-1-1, 14 KOs) against Jerry Forrest (26-4-1, 20 KOs).

Show and tell

The late, great Pernell Whitaker won a 1984 Olympic gold medal as an amateur and became the pound-for-pound king as a pro. Known for his otherworldly defense, “Sweet Pea” was one of the dominant forces of the 1990s and won world titles in four divisions. Whitaker (40-4-1, 17 KOs) was the undisputed lightweight champion and also won titles at junior welterweight, welterweight and junior middleweight. He is a Mount Rushmore-level Hall of Famer, inducted in 2007. Here’s a Whitaker card I recently added to my collection. It is from the 2021 Leaf Pro Set multi-sport set and is an autograph card that pictures Whitaker as an amateur, although the signature is on a sticker that is affixed to the card. It is No. 9 of a limited run of 25 of this version of the card.

Khan-Brook photo: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer

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