Amir Khan expressed his dissatisfaction with the idea of meeting with Kellom Brook up to 149 lb (67.58 kg), but the former welterweight title holder was not about to let this be the reason for one of the biggest British fights in recent memory to be canceled.
After years of controversy in the media, Han and Brook will eventually face off on February 19 in Manchester. The bout, billed as a welterweight bout, will actually be held at an interim weight of up to 149 pounds, two pounds above the welterweight limit. According to Khan, it was Brook (39-3, 27 KOs) who demanded to fight in the new weight limit, much to Khan's chagrin.
“We were going to have a welterweight fight, but he didn't want to do it,” Khan said during a recent Instagram livestream. “All this talk about 'Yes, I will fight Amir anywhere, tell me where and I will be there' is all nonsense.”
Khan (34-5, 21 KOs) is currently training in Omaha, Nebraska, with the support of Brian McIntyre, head coach of WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford, who knocked out Kahn in the sixth round in 2019. Khan claims to have succumbed to many of Brook's demands in order for this fight to take place.
“I do this for my fans,” Khan said. “I’m doing this for you guys so that no one can ever say that the reason the meeting didn’t take place was me. Brooke kept coming up with new terms, and I just agreed to whatever he wanted. He wanted to fight at 149 - no problem, although 147 is a weight class and 149 is no longer. But what is, it is. "
According to promoter Ben Shalom, both fighters will be fined six figures for every pound they exceed the contractual limit.
