A MONTH out from his long awaited grudge match with Amir Khan, Kell Brook has insisted he is on track with his weight-making and his training for their February 19 clash in Manchester.
Brook hasn’t scaled under 150lbs since 2017 and this bout has been made at 149lbs. Speaking from his base in Furteventura, the Sheffield man was adamant that would be no issue. “I’ve never ever missed weight in all of my career, I’ve never had to take my boxer shorts off, I’ve always made weight,” he said. “All I need to really concentrate on is being 100%, sticking to what I need to do at this current moment and all the way through up to this fight. It’s going to be absolutely to a tee, bang on and I’m going to be firing on every single one of my cylinders.”
“Regarding the weight, that’s why we took ourselves away from the festive season,” he added. “It’s a joy to be out here in the sunshine, away from the cold and grafting, working hard.”
This contest is coming later in both of their careers than hoped for. Rather than meeting in their prime, both are now veterans. Brook has now had 42 professional bouts, Khan has had 39 and their best years in the sport are behind them. But Brook will take no less satisfaction if he can finally beat his long-time rival.
“It’s a big massive fight, bragging rights and that’s personal to me,” he said. “It’s all animosity on our side and I think it is from him. There’s no love lost, we don’t like each other. This isn’t hype. This is real. This is as real as it comes, I don’t like him and he don’t like me and I want to punch him hard.
“It’s better late than never as the teacher used to say to me when I was late for school.”
“It would mean everything to me,” he continued. “He’s never acknowledged me as a great fighter.
“I’m competitive and when someone says they can beat me and I think otherwise, I want to show everyone that I’m the best.”
Brook was dismissive of Khan basing himself in America to join a new coach, Brian McIntyre, the trainer of Terence Crawford, who has beaten both of the Britons. “He [Khan] quit in that fight [against Crawford], he said he got hit low,” Brook said. “They were giving him nothing but grief before and after the fight and now they’re pretending to be friends… If he thinks that’s best for him, good for him.”
He doesn’t think Brian McIntyre can make a great change to Khan, saying, “It’s down to the talent, it’s down to the man.”
In contrast for this fight Brook is with Dominic Ingle, a training team that has a long history. “We’ve got that connection, we know each other inside out,” Kell says. “I just adapt. As long I’m 100%, which I am, I’ve got no problem.
“If I’m 100% I’m hard to be beat. I’m turning up 100% in this fight.”
“I want it more than him,” he said of Khan. “I’m not here to make the numbers up, I’m in there to get this win.
“This is the one. This is real.”
“I’ve got a great boxing brain, I’m always thinking, I’m always setting traps,” he added. “I do believe I’m a better boxer than him. I do believe whatever he brings I’ll have an answer for, I really do.
“I just want to prove that I’m a better boxer, a better fighter… I want to show him that he is deluded… I want the fans to witness it and see it.”