According to various reports, former unified super lightweight champion Amir Khan will face pound-for-pound superstar Terence Crawford on April 20th at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Khan, who had been rumoured to finally fulfil an all-British showdown with long-term rival Kell Brook in 2019, has seemingly set his sights on an even more daunting task, tackling Nebraskan superstar Crawford for his WBO World welterweight title.
Reports on BoxingScene suggest that Khan will receive a $5m guarantee for the bout – which will be shown as a pay-per-view on ESPN+ in America.
With the 32-year-old Brit still having one fight on his agreement with Matchroom Boxing, Khan’s apparent deal with Crawford would see the bout be shown in the U.K. as a co-promotion, as stated by promoter Eddie Hearn in an interview with Boxing Social in December.
The news of the proposed bout will come as a hammer blow to Sheffield’s Kell Brook, who was thought by many to be in pole position to land a blockbuster bout with Khan after years of back-and-forth between the pair.
However, with Khan now set to face undefeated three-weight kingpin Crawford, Brook will have to pursue other targets – most likely at 154lbs – such as WBA/IBF World super welterweight champion Jarrett Hurd and recently crowned WBC champion Tony Harrison.
A Crawford-Khan bout marks a significant step-up in class for Khan, having boxed just thirteen rounds in almost three years since suffering a devastating knockout loss to Mexican icon Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in an unsuccessful bid for the WBC World middleweight title in May 2016.
Crawford, who was last seen in action in October when stopping mandatory challenger Jose Benavidez Jr. in the twelfth round in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, is considered by some to be the sport’s leading pound-for-pound attraction.
With rumoured bouts against former Khan-opponents Danny Garcia and Luis Collazo falling by the wayside, a match-up against Khan affords Crawford the opportunity to perform on pay-per-view against a name-worthy opponent – while still remaining a sizeable favourite.
Should the American come through the bout unscathed, fans of the sport will hope to see him tackle fellow-undefeated welterweight [IBF] champion Errol Spence Jr. in a mouth-watering unification bout in 2019.