British rivals Amir Khan and Kell Brook head into the ring tonight for one of the most eagerly-anticipated fights of the year so far.
Khan and Brook hold a grudge dating back over a decade. Finally, they get the chance to squash their beef for good in Manchester, England.
World Boxing News offers all you need to know about the 149-pound catchweight clash ahead of the first bell.
KHAN vs. BROOK RUNNING ORDER / TV
Khan vs. Brook is live and exclusive on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and ESPN+ in the United States.
SKY SPORTS BOXING FACEBOOK STREAM
[17.00 UK / 9 am PT / 12pm ET]
FIGHT #1 – 4×3 Mins Super-Bantamweight Contest
IBRAHIM NADIM vs. TAKA BEMBERE
FIGHT #2 – 4×3 Mins Featherweight Contest
ABDUL KHAN vs. RICKY STARKEY
LIVE ON SKY SPORTS BOX OFFICE
[18:00 UK / 10 am PT / 1 pm ET]
FIGHT #3 – 10×3 Mins English Super-Middleweight Title
CHARLIE SCHOFIELD vs. GERMAINE BROWN
FIGHT #4 – 6×3 Mins Cruiserweight Contest
VIDDAL RILEY vs. WILLBEFORCE SHIHEPO
FIGHT #5 – 8×3 Mins Middleweight Contest
BRAD REA vs. CRAIG McCARTHY
FIGHT #7 – 6×3 Mins Super-Lightweight Contest
ADAM AZIM vs. JORDAN ELLISON
FIGHT #8 – 6×3 Mins Heavyweight Contest
FRAZER CLARKE vs. JAKE DARNELL
FIGHT #9 – 10×2 Mins Vacant WBO Female World Super-Welterweight Championship
NATASHA JONAS vs. CHRISTIAN NAMUS
FIGHT #10 – 12×3 Mins Welterweight Contest
AMIR KHAN vs. KELL BROOK
FIGHT #11 – SWING – 4×3 Mins Welterweight Contest
HASSAN AZIM vs. MJ HALL
KHAN vs. BROOK RING WALK TIMES
No earlier than 10 pm UK / 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET.
Lawrence Lustig
AMIR KHAN vs. KELL BROOK PREDICTION
It certainly won’t be the same fight it would have if both had agreed to collide in 2015 or 2016. It was a time when Khan and Brook turned away from each other to secure enormous middleweight challenges well above their capabilities.
A game Khan got wiped out by Canelo in May 2016. Four months later, Brook got crushed by Golovkin. Since then, the UK welterweight stars have never been the same.
Highly vulnerable and taking long breaks from the sport, Khan and Brook are no longer considered any threat to many of the top ten fighters at 147.
Therefore, it will be a completely different affair. It will probably be over a lot quicker than – say, those six or seven years ago.
It may come down to who has taken lesser punishment in their careers. On the face of it, that’s Amir Khan.
His speed and elusiveness also mean the Bolton man has better mobility than Brook. The latter has seemed significantly flatfooted in more than one of his most recent outings.
Brook’s questionable lifestyle outside the ring is also a factor, coupled with two depressed eye-socket fractures of his face inflicted by Golovkin and Errol Spence.
Khan can capitalize on all those factors in the fight and has the skills even to end it within the first six rounds.
The ‘King’ of Bolton might have to pick himself up off the canvas in the process, though.
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