AMIR KHAN will not be facing Kell Brook in a mammoth domestic clash in his next outing as he wants to shake the rust off in a warm-up fight first.
Khan was flattened by Canelo Alvarez last May and subsequently underwent surgery on a long-term hand injury, which he now insists is fully healed.
His and Brook’s teams have been in talks over the past few weeks to discuss finally making a fight between them, but Khan does not want it right away.
“A fight before Kell Brook, I’m trying to get it in the UK. I’ve got a meeting with Al Haymon about it,” he told Boxing News.
“One thing about the Kell Brook fight, he’s got a mandatory challenger. Go fight your mandatory, you say you’re the king of mandatories, so go fight your mandatory. Hopefully you can take the fight with me afterwards.
“I told everyone I want a tune up fight after getting my hand sorted. If he moves up to 154, the fight with me will never happen because I’ll never move up to 154.”
The Bolton man is in Las Vegas where he watched Leo Santa Cruz hand Carl Frampton his first professional defeat in a thrilling rematch.
Afterward, Frampton urged Santa Cruz to face him in a trilogy fight next, preferably in Belfast, but Khan advises both men against such a scenario.
“That was an amazing fight, one of the best fights I’ve ever seen live,” he said. “It had me on the edge of my seat, it was full of fireworks. Obviously I didn’t want Carl Frampton to lose. I’m sure there’s another day to have a trilogy.
“It makes sense, just not yet. Maybe a tune-up fight first. If they do it straight away it might not be good for them, you have to look at your health. Have a nice recovery, a nice break and then come back to it.”
