Hearn: Eyeing Brook v Khan in 2016

By Olly Campbell - 11/13/2015 - Comments

Matchroom boxing boss, Eddie Hearn, likes to make a wish list of fights he’s keen on making for the coming year, and top of the tree for 2016 is the huge welterweight showdown between IBF champion, Kell Brook and domestic rival, Amir Khan; a fight he is eyeing for the Summer.

Brook – currently recovering from a rib injury sustained shortly before his scheduled October clash with Diego Chaves – is intending to box 2 or 3 more times at 147 before an eventual move to 154, so Hearn believes that time is of the essence – something he told Khan, who attended last week’s Matchroom show in Liverpool.

“I had some interesting chats with Amir Khan [last] Saturday, and if he fights in January like I think he might, I think the Brook fight can happen in the Summer,” Hearn told iFLtv.

“I said [to Khan] ‘You’ve got to sit down and look at this fight, mate. How much are you getting for these other fights? You’re not getting enough money, I can pay you 5x that for a Brook fight.

“I also said Kell’s only going to have a couple more fights at welterweight before we move up and win a world title at [154]. He said ‘Don’t move up, you gotta fight me first!’, so I said ‘well make the fight!”

“If we’re looking at a May or June fight at Wembley, you can’t just decide that in March. These things take planning, it’s a major operation,” he added before going on to say that he will reach out to Khan again to press the issue.

“I already offered Khan 5 million dollars to fight Brook, and that was before he was world champion, so think of the money in the pot now.”

“The time is now to make this fight. Don’t lose it or it’s gone. Brook/Khan in the Summer. The time is now.”

Aside from the Khan fight, which will be a massive draw on UK shores, Hearn is also looking at a potential fight with WBO welterweight champ, Tim Bradley, who retired Brandon Rios last week in Las Vegas.

“I also like the Tim Bradley fight and I think they’re up for it as well,” Hearn said. “It’s a great fight, unification.”

Brook looks set to not box again until the early part of next year, though the rescheduled fight with Chaves in still not guaranteed to take place, with Hearn merely stating in a non-committal fashion that the fight remains ‘the plan.’

Whether we ever see Brook/Chaves remains to be seen, though it’s a sure bet fans will happily swerve it in favour of a fight between ‘The Special One’ and old rival, Khan.

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