Khan Questions Brook’s Well-Being: 'I Live that Clean Life…Kell Goes on a Bender'

One thing is certain for Amir Khan: If he loses to his bitter rival Kell Brook next month, it won’t be because he lacked the wherewithal to adhere to certain spartan habits.

The longtime British adversaries will finally hash out their differences on Feb. 19 at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England in a 12-round contest held at a contractually-agreed-upon 149 pounds, two pounds above the welterweight threshold.

The Bolton-born Khan (34-5, 21 KOs), a former champion at 140 pounds, thinks his commitment to a healthy lifestyle will pay dividends on fight night against Sheffield’s Brook (39-3, 27 KOs), whom he feels is far more dissolute and has a tendency to tipple. Both fighters are the same age, 35.

“I think I live a reasonable, clean life, and I think that’s what’s going to help me going into this fight as well, even being 35,” Khan said during a virtual media conference. “Kell is a very similar age to me. I think Kell’s lifestyle is very different. We live two opposite lifestyles. I live that clean lifestyle. I’m a family man. I spend time with my family. I don’t drink alcohol. I live that clean life.

“Whereas with Kell I don’t think he does. I think Kell goes missing for a couple of days. He goes on a bender.”

In addition to strictly abiding by abstemious principles, Khan also credits his newfound training situation for putting him in optimum shape. He has been based in Omaha, Nebraska for the past couple of months under the stewardship of new trainer Brian McIntyre, the trainer of WBO titleholder Terence Crawford, whom Khan fought – and lost to – in 2019 in their pay-per-view match held at Madison Square Garden in New York. Khan has raved about the instruction he has received from his new team.

In the end, Khan believes his physical conditioning will give him the decisive edge over Brook.

“If you saw [Brook] at the press conference you would see how unfit, how unhealthy he looked,” Khan said. “Is he going to be in the best condition in 10 week? Whereas for me I’ve been training for the last couple of months. Time will tell.”