By Rick Reeno
Amir Khan (30-3, 19KOs) is very confident that his domestic rival, IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (34-0, 23KOs), will fight a low caliber opponent in his planned return in the month of June.
Khan indicates that prior to Brook's mandatory defense against Jo Jo Dan last month in Sheffield, there were some discussions between the Bolton fighter's team and Eddie Hearn, who promotes Brook. According to Khan, his team made it very clear that he was unable to fight Brook on a June date due to Ramadan. If Khan had to guess, he sees Antonin Decarie as a likely candidate to face Brook in June.
Regarding the subject of money, Khan says his compensation per fight is significantly higher when compared to Brook's in-ring earnings.- which is why Khan believes Brook is going to play it safe until the two of them square off in the ring.
"They spoke to my team before the fight [with Dan] and knew I couldn't fight in June because of Ramadan. At least this gives an excuse to Kell to go out there and give a good performance against an A-list opponent like Marquez or maybe Maidana or Bradley - because that way he is proving himself and it makes the fight bigger. He is only a name in the UK and in America he's only had that one fight. It makes the fight even bigger," Khan told BoxingScene.com.
"It seems to me that Kell is scared to fight an A-list opponent because he knows that if he gets beat he will never get that big payday against me. I really believe that he will fight again in June, to stay busy, and fight another bum. He will fight another No No Dan. He will fight Decarie or someone else with a ranking in one of the organizations and fool the public again by saying 'oh he's a one of the top guys in the IBF.' They are fooling the public and cashing in."
"It seems to be they are getting very desperate. They keep saying how much I'll make [against Brook]. Honestly I make a lot of money fighting in America. I make big money in the UK with whoever I fight. They are trying to make Kell Brook believe that I don't make a lot of money so he don't get mad, because I heard he only makes a couple hundred grand a fight. I've been very lucky that I make very good purses as a fighter."
"He's going to fight these low caliber fighters, fighters who are moving up in weight that he knows he can beat, non big punchers, guys who are a walk in the park. I can't believe how they sold the fight to the UK, making it like Jo Jo Dan was some type of world champion. And then they are disrespecting Algieri, a former world champion, calling him a joke and saying he's not a good fighter. Algieri is the guy who just went in the ring with Manny Pacquiao, one of the best fighters in the world. Algieri is the guy who beat Provodnikov for the title. I respect all fighters and I think it's disrespectful they way they are going around disrespecting other fighters."
"I really believe he will go for someone like Decarie. People need to wake up. Eddie Hearn and Kell Brook are fooling the British public, it's the honest truth. Look at my last 13 fights and look at Kell's last 13 fights. I don't really recognize more than two names on Kell's resume. People need to open their eyes and see that this 'guy is taking me for a ride.' And maybe that's why he's not making the big money that he should be making, because obviously he's fighting bums."
