“HE should call himself Amir Khandashian,” Kell Brook declares to Boxing News, laughing quietly but vehement in his belief that arch-rival Amir Khan has become more personality that boxer. Kell Brook tickets for a mandatory defence of his IBF welterweight title against talented but unheralded Canadian Kevin Bizier have recently gone on sale – they meet on March 26 in Brook’s hometown of Sheffield – but his nemesis from Bolton still occupies the Yorkshireman’s thoughts. “He’s living that celebrity lifestyle. Is he a fighter or is he jumping on jets, rolling with the stars? If that’s the case, he should retire. His ego is so big but I’m world champion, I fight for a living so I can bend here and there to make it happen.”
“It” is the long-awaited showdown between Brook and Khan which may or may not happen this summer. Brook insists he is happy to take the minority share of any purse shared between the warring welterweights, but feels 80-20 in the admitted bigger name’s favour is grossly unfair and does not believe Khan truly wants the fight.
“I think in the back of his mind he knows what will happen and I don’t think he could live the rest of his life having been whupped by me after he’s slagged me off all the time,” Brook points out. Khan recently posted an image of Brook opposite a person’s bottom on Twitter, the implication clear. “He’s saying I’m fighting bums which is very disrespectful; no one who is brave enough to get in that ring, especially if they are deemed good enough to face me, is a bum.
“The IBF are very strict at enforcing mandatories, so I need to get this out the way then have a major fight in the summer. I want to fight my mandatory, do it the proper way, then have a big fight in the summer, with or without Khan.”
