Kell Brook vs Amir Khan a step closer after progress in talks
Friday 29 January 2016 07:23, UK
Kell Brook could defend his IBF welterweight title against bitter domestic rival Amir Khan at Wembley in the summer following progress in negotiations.
An eagerly-awaited showdown between Brook and two-time former champion Khan appeared a long way off last week as the pair continued their long-running feud by trading insults on social media.
However, Brook's promoter Eddie Hearn now believes the fight will happen after confirming there has been good progress in the last 24 hours.
"Kell Brook is desperate for this fight," Hearn told Sky Sports News HQ.
"It doesn't mean he will just roll over and let Team Khan tickle his belly and tell him what they are going to pay him.
"We have to be respected, he's the world champion, but the money on the table in this fight, I can't understand why this fight wasn't signed six months ago.
"But great fights take time. Froch-Groves II was very, very difficult negotiations, Quigg against Frampton went on for years before we got that made and in the end it was just the willingness of both fighters to fight each other.
"There's too much money to leave on the table. There's too much legacy to create a fight at the national stadium at Wembley that will be remembered for years and years and years, and there's a world title on the line.
"We've made decent progress in the last 24 hours, but these are the ups and downs of making a fight.
"If you had asked me 48 hours ago, I would have told you this is dead, a waste of time and then all of a sudden you have one phone call and you think 'you know what, this might just get made'.
"It happened with Quigg-Frampton. There were plenty of times when I spoke to Jake McGuigan or Barry McGuigan, and I slammed the phone down and said 'that's it, no more talk, no more conversations, forget it we're going a different way', and then you just have a conversation and think just maybe.
"And we had one of those conversations in the last 24 hours. So, boxing fans, don't give up hope on Brook against Khan on June 4 at Wembley just yet."
Brook will first return to the ring to make a mandatory defence of his title against Kevin Bizier on March 26, while Khan could face Danny Garcia in a rematch after the WBC ordered the American to face the Briton before June.
