By Keith Idec
Eddie Hearn and Kell Brook are very interested in a high-profile fight against Amir Khan.
Even though both British welterweights are coming off knockout defeats, a Brook-Khan clash would do huge business in the United Kingdom. Everyone involved has acknowledged Brook and Khan will make more money for fighting each other than other opponents currently available, particularly in London.
But Hearn isn’t interested in a 70-30 revenue split, a proposal apparently pitched by Khan. Hearn – whose company, Matchroom Sport, promotes Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) – revealed in a Tweet on Monday morning that Khan seeks that lopsided split of the pie for boxing Brook.
Hearn’s revelation was a response to this Tweet on Monday morning from Khan: Eddie I’m the A side and you and kell know he will make more then he did against GGG. Don’t you agree.
Brook’s promoter didn’t agree.
After Khan said during an appearance Monday on “This Morning,” a British television show, that Brook doesn’t want to fight him, this was Hearn’s response: He is correct – at 70-30 we don’t want the fight
Brook and Khan also engaged in a contentious Twitter exchange.
In response to a Brook Tweet that stated: Who da f*** is that guy!, Khan sent this Tweet: I’m this guy below! [A head shot of Khan, listing his net worth as $30 million, was attached to his Tweet.] Now get the f*** in the que. Fight your mandatory for $1m [laughing emoji] My offers to to good. Take it or leave it!
Hearn has said to numerous outlets that he would prefer to have Brook battle Khan (31-4, 19 KOs) rather than Errol Spence Jr.
Brook has about a month left to decide whether to make a mandatory defense of his IBF welterweight title against the unbeaten Spence (21-0, 18 KOs), of DeSoto, Texas, or give up that 147-pound championship. The IBF granted Brook a 60-day medical extension to make that determination because Brook was recovering from surgery to repair a broken right cheekbone suffered during his fifth-round technical knockout defeat to Gennady Golovkin on September 10 in London.
Brook also is more than open to fighting Manny Pacquiao, but that won’t be Brook’s next bout. Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, and Hearn have had preliminary discussions about putting together a Pacquiao-Brook bout in September in London.
Khan hasn’t fought since Canelo Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) knocked him unconscious in the sixth round of their WBC middleweight title fight May 7 in Las Vegas.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
