Amir Khan Continues to Baffle Boxing Fans with Yet Another Career Move!
By Faisal “Fayz” Masood
When Amir Khan entered the jungle on the celebrity game show ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’ there were cries that Khan was running down the wrong track, he had replaced the running around the sprint track for treading down the jungle trail. He was replacing facing punches in the head with potential spider bites on those lightning fast hands of his. Was this a good or bad career move for the former world champion? After last fighting in May of 2016 in which suffered the sort of knock out which fighters can never recover from, would his career ever recover from appearing in the reality based game show?
Khan was adamant he would be back to his best inside the ring once his stint inside the jungle was over. He was only going to the jungle to clear his head after a depressing year involving his personal life which had become the laughing stock amongst boxing circles and was better placed for a Hollywood gossip column than news expected of a man who makes fighting his living.
The end result though was undoubtedly confirmed as a good career move when this week Amir Khan announced he had signed a three fight deal with none other than Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom. Yes, the same Eddie Hearn whom Khan had engaged in verbal sparring with over the years, most notably over a potential fight with Kell Brook. The back handed insults had continued over the years but now we have a situation where Amir Khan and Kell Brook are boxing stable mates, belonging to the same promoter. Does this mean a fight between the two is a done deal? Will Hearn be building both fighters up to engage in mega money domestic fight to settle an age old rivalry? Khan has made it clear he wants to fight as a welterweight and Brook has decided to move up to 154lbs but both have experience at fighting at higher weights, Khan against Alvarez, and Brook against Golovkin. Ironic the losers of those two fights may just end up fighting each other, most likely it will fall in a catchweight if ever they agree to a fight. With both belonging to Matchroom Promotions now, there won’t be a better time to make the fight a reality.
The signing made sense for both parties, Khan came out of the jungle with his reputation not only intact, but enhanced and found himself a new legion of fans who took to Khan who showed his more human side in the jungle. Eddie Hearn being the businessman that he is, would have taken note of this because more fans means more money for his promotions, if Hearn believes Khan can make him a good deal of money then why wouldn’t he want to snap Khan up to Matchroom Promotions? Khan’s appearance in the jungle put him at the front of British TV audiences, his name is fresh in everyone’s mind, he has bought more casual fans to the sport who will be following his fights because they liked what they saw of him on the game show. This is why it was a great business decision for Khan to return to fight in the UK. When Khan steps inside the ring at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on April 21st it will mark almost 5yrs since he last fought in his home country. It’s clear he now has a larger following in the UK and both Khan and Hearn have taken advantage of this and tapped into the potential money supply. If nothing else, putting aside their rivalry proved yet again that money talks.
Khan has gone on record that he still wants to face a stiff test on his return to the ring, he doesn’t want an easy fight. Eddie Hearn will be hoping that after almost 2yrs off Khan doesn’t blow the potential pot of gold away and suffer a defeat due to ring rust. The potential list of opponents that Eddie Hearn has sent to Khans trainer Virgil Hunter includes Josesito Lopez, Adrian Granados, Sammy Vazquez, Antonio DeMarco and more. One of the more bigger names going around the rumour mill is that of Adrien Broner. The former four weight world champion is coming off a loss in which he was outclassed by Mikey Garcia and the potential fight with Khan would be a mouth watering clash. But the chances of this being Khans first fight back is very slim, the risk would be too high. Broner is a very talented fighter and although he will keep on promising to be back on track and training like a hungry young fighter making his way up the ranks, you just never know what you are going to get with Broner and more often than not in his last few fights he has flattered to deceive. A fight against Khan though would give him the opportunity to redeem himself and for Khan the fight against Broner would give him the chance to say he hasn’t lost a step and should be in the mix for further big fights against the best of the welterweight division including current champion Keith Thurman. Although they may not meet next, watch this space because a potential bout between the two could be ahead in the near future.
For now though, it looks like Khans career is set to resume. He is looking to put his past demons behind him, both those inside and outside the ring, he has gained new fans and perhaps the break has given him a renewed motivation to succeed and prepare for fighting again. The next opponent is yet to be announced but when it comes to Amir Khan there is one thing you can be sure of, every time he enters the ring, win or lose, he is one of the most exciting fighters in the world and the fans will get their moneys worth and when it comes to his new found legion of fans who have followed him out of the jungle, that is all they want to see. Perhaps the man who called himself King Khan did leave as King of the Jungle, will he be back to fulfil his promise of being King of the Ring again?
Check out Fayz’s available books for download on Amazon. He also runs his own Personal Training site and blog over at Fayz Fitness.
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