Amir Khan claims he is close to Terence Crawford title fight, putting Kell Brook plans on backburner

Amir Khan is ready to sign a deal to fight WBO welterweight world champion Terence Crawford – a move which will jeopardise the possibility of a British showdown with long-term rival Kell Brook.

Khan and Brook, who are both signed to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, have long been locked in talks over a grudge match in 2019, with a deal between the pair seemingly closer than ever.

Brook must first overcome Michael Zerafa on Saturday night in his second clash since a pair of devastating defeats. He was stopped during a unified middleweight world title fight with Gennady Golovkin in September 2016, before suffering a similar fate at the hands of Errol Spence Jr a year later.

Sky Sports invited Khan to make an appearance in Sheffield in anticipation of Brook beating Zerafa to publicly accelerate talks and interest in the bout, but he declined and has now warned that time is running out for his rival.

“If I fight for a title in the welterweight division with Crawford, that could be a future fight, so you never know,” he told The Independent.

“We’ve had big names on the list. Something is going to be announced within a week, I’ve given everyone deadlines because I need to keep busy. Being out of the ring is not fair on me when I have other options out there.”

“We’re looking at the Brook fight and it’s a big fight as well, probably one of the biggest in my career. We’re looking at Wembley Stadium, maybe Manchester or Birmingham, but I think Wembley would be the ideal location for me. Watching Anthony Joshua fight there…having 90,000 people would be awesome.”

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Khan acknowledges that he is now entering the final years of his career and has admitted that he is torn between gifting British boxing fans a fight they have long been demanding – along with a potentially more lucrative purse – or fighting pound-for-pound star Crawford for another shot at the world title.

“This fight would generate in the twenties of millions, it's a big fight if we can sell out Wembley stadium,” he said of a potential meeting with Brook.

“The fight has been talked about for so many years and we can sell Wembley, or maybe do 70,000 which is a lot of money just from the gate alone. Then you've got the pay-per-view market which will be big because recently they've been hitting it on the big fights, so we may get one million buys. I think it is more about a legacy to us. This is a fight that can cement our legacy and show who the best is in our division.

“There are other big options and maybe it came to a stage where I thought the big fights for me are gone, but they’re not. I’ve been offered another big deal with good money to fight against a tougher fighter and a bigger name than Kell Brook, which I was surprised at. I have to look at all avenues. If this makes more sense for me, I’ll take that one, but the British crowd will be upset.”

Khan must decide between Brook (L) and Crawford (Getty)

Any future fight rests on whether Brook can beat Zerafa on Saturday, with Khan admitted he will take time out from his 32nd birthday celebrations to cheer on his nemesis.

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“He has to win to do this fight, it kills our fight if he doesn’t win. So let’s see, he should win. Look at the people he is fighting, I think that he definitely needs to up his game, I don’t know who is at fault there, is it Eddie Hearn? He’s fighting nobodies, you are at this level where you have to fight some good names and he is not doing that. People think ‘ah he’s won his last fight’, but you forget who he’s fought. If you look at his resumé, it doesn’t stack up, he’s lost one or two fights against good fighters.

“They’re waiting for the big paycheck against me, which I will be honest about. They know there is a big fight with Amir and if he gets beaten again that fight is going to go out of the window.

“I have more to lose, but at the same time, me winning this fight will make everyone know who is the best British fighter in the welterweight division is and if I didn't take it, people would always have that in their mind, 'he never fought him', they might forget about it one day, but it'll be in my head as well. If it doesn't happen, I'll be happy with my career.”

Amir Khan is launching the ‘Ring the Changes’ initiative with online financial trading broker ThinkMarkets (www.thinkmarkets.com) to support underprivileged young people across the UK through fundraising, mentorship, education and employment opportunities.