By Edward Chaykovsky
Promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport tried his best to finalize a May pay-per-view fight between IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) and his domestic rival Amir Khan (31-4, 19 KOs).
Discussions to make the fight have crumbled after Khan and his team demanded a split of 70-30 in their favor. Hearn and Brook believe an even split of 50-50 is fair.
Khan has been out of the ring since a knockout loss to Canelo Alvarez from last May at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Brook is looking to get back in the mix after suffering a stoppage loss last September when he jumped up by two weight divisions to challenge middleweight king Gennady Golovkin.
Discussions to make Khan-Brook have been ongoing for several weeks, but hit brick wall after both sides were too far apart on the money.
"We just got a point where the perception of what each side deserved was just too wide. They thought a split of 70-30 was fair for Amir Khan to face a world champion. That's a split that you would associate with a mandatory challenger for a world title that Amir Khan doesn't have . We think it should be 50-50," Hearn told Sky Sports.
"I don't think the fight is dead. I think its dead for May. We've got some big decisions to make on behalf of Kell Brook, but for now the distance is just too wide.... we're not just talking about 5%. Could I convince Kell Brook's dad to take 5% less? Maybe, and then you can get creative around those numbers. But 30% is borderline insult and its very difficult to convince someone's father, and the fighter, that it's fair... because it's not."
Would Hearn entertain a 60-40 split? Possibly, but 55-45 (in Khan's favor) seems to be more in line with something he and Brook would accept.
"I think [60-40 is] too wide, but maybe it's something you discuss and then go to 55-45. It becomes quite boring but for me - I want Kell Brook to have this fight, but he has to be respected in this fight and get a deal that's right," Hearn said.
