From Floyd Mayweather Jr. to Manny Pacquiao, a lot happened in the last decade. Here’s something that didn’t:
Kell Brook vs. Amir Khan.
Glaciers have melted since fight fans first started talking about Brook-Khan. There’s still no opening bell, yet the talk is still there, suddenly as loud as ever. Khan mentioned Brook last week, perhaps because he is running out of options for some good money. Retirement looms.
Brook, 33, has heard the renewed talk, of course. It must sound like an old song. He knows the lyrics. Yet, the beat goes on. Perhaps, a re-done version will include more than just talk in a new decade. Maybe not.
“Amir knows where I am, I’m here,’’ Brook, a former welterweight champion, told The Mirror while training for a Feb. 8 bout against Mark DeLuca in Sheffield, England. “If he wants to fight, it’s not hard to make. I’m not being awkward and the world knows that.
“He’s reluctant because we’re both British and with him saying how easy he can beat me, he wouldn’t be able to walk the streets knowing he’d been pasted all over the ring by me.
“He’s been saying for years that he will do this, that and other to me, so when I put him flat on his face he wouldn’t be able to walk around the streets. It would do him in. He can lose to Americans. But losing to a Brit — given the history we’ve got — that’s going to hurt. That’s the major issue for him.”
Brook (38-2, 26 KOs) went on to say that he does not expect to hear from Khan if he delivers an impressive performance in a victory over DeLuca (24-1, 13 KOs).
“I’m fed up of saying his name,’’ said Brook, who hasn’t fought since scoring a unanimous decision over Michael Zerafa on Dec. 12, 2018.
However, he hasn’t eliminated the Khan option. Brook’s hopes for 2020:
“DeLuca, world title fight, Khan.”
Then, maybe, a decade without talk of Brook-Khan. That’ll sound strange.