On April 20th at a location yet to be determined, Amir Khan will be challenging pound-for-pound superstar Terence Crawford for the latter’s WBO World welterweight championship after negotiations seemingly broke down for a highly-anticipated domestic showdown with longtime nemesis Kell Brook.
A win over Crawford would surely represent a significant upset, making Khan a two-weight world champion – having previously unified titles at light-welterweight – and almost immediately restoring his position as one of the premier fighters in his weight class
Crawford himself is a three-weight World champion, having resoundingly beaten Ricky Burns for the latter’s WBO lightweight belt on away soil in 2014 before moving up and becoming undisputed Super lightweight light champion in 2017 with a devastating third-round knockout victory over Namibian southpaw Julius Indongo.
‘Bud’, as he is nicknamed, captured the championship in June with a dominant ninth-round beatdown of reigning Australian champion Jeff Horn, before defending it in style against undefeated rival Jose Benavidez in October, courtesy of a sensational stoppage in the final round.
Omaha native Crawford is prohibitively favoured to successfully retain his title against Khan, following his recent momentum coupled with the challenger’s seeming decline, exemplified by a somewhat shaky performance in September against Colombian Samuel Vargas in Birmingham, where he was dropped in the second round and visibly hurt in the tenth.
Despite the violent nature of his three knockout defeats, Khan is still renowned for his blistering hand speed and combinations; attributes that undoubtedly make him a threat to any fighter in the division, which is precisely why many commentators, including Sky Sport’s Johnny Nelson, are tipping the Bolton-born fighter to spring a surprise against the switch-hitting American.
Nevertheless, Crawford’s unbridled confidence in his own capabilities does not appear to have morphed into any sense of complacency whatsoever – no doubt a heartening sign for fans of the Nebraskan – as he was keen to emphasise Khan’s skills at the London press conference which took place yesterday to announce their fight.
Crawford said: “Amir Khan’s very talented, he’s very explosive, fast hands, fast feet. He’s at the top tier of the fighters I’ve ever fought.”
“I won’t know if he’s the fastest I’ve fought until im in the ring with him, because [Yuriorkis] Gamboa had real fast hands and [Jose] Benavidez had fast hands, too. So we’ll see when I’m in there.
“He’s at the top tier of the fighters I’ve ever fought, but I’m very confident I will be victorious.”
In a respectful affair in which both fighters and their teams exchanged pleasantries, Khan, meanwhile, had this to say: “Winning this fight, people will remember me as a great champion, I kept thinking the Brook fight would be the next one until I got a phone call from Bob Arum saying ‘would you want to fight Crawford?’
“Looking at the way he fights and what he has achieved, I couldn’t say no to it. It is a massive fight.
“The decision as to fighting Brook or Crawford has been one of the most difficult decisions of my career to date. Clearly, the UK fans want to see Khan v Brook, but I could not turn down the opportunity to fight for the WBO World title.
“That is not to say that the Brook fight won’t happen, as I want that fight to happen as soon as possible.”
Article by: Navi Singh
Follow Navi on Twitter at: @DarkMan________