Fight fans have been made to wait but we are finally going to see the highly-anticipated clash between British rivals Amir Khan and Kell Brook.
This fight has been spoken about for years, and while it comes when the powers of both boxers are on the wane, it should still be a terrific tussle in Manchester.
Special K is the 5/9 favourite, with Khan rated a 27/20 shot. The bout is 23/20 to go the full 12 rounds and you can get 25/29 that the contest doesn’t go beyond the ninth round.
What Do the Fighters Have Left?
Usually when looking to find a bet on a fight you would assess bits and pieces of form that may make a boxer under or overrated. However, the number of wins, opponents, world titles and knockouts are almost irrelevant in this bout. The sun has almost set on the career of both of these boxers and a peak performance from either man is unlikely.
What punters need to consider is how much do the British pair have left to offer. Khan hasn’t been in the ring since he took on Billy Dib in July 2019, but that was little more than an exhibition bout in Saudi Arabia and his last serious contest came against Terence Crawford in April of the same year.
Crawford also got the better of Brook in 2020 and that defeat effectively ended the Sheffield star’s hopes of claiming another world title.
Special K has been active more recently, but that doesn’t mean there is more in the tank. King Khan has suffered four stoppage defeats in his career, but they have tended to be one-punch flash knockouts and the Bolton boxer has avoided a majorly damaging defeat.
The same can’t be said for Brook. The Sheffield star suffered a bruising loss to Gennadiy Golovkin at middleweight in 2016 and he came away from the contest with a broken eye socket.
Brook was also hit hard by Errol Spence and the concern is that those fights may have left their mark.
Weight can play a major role
This is a catch-weight bout at 149lbs – two pounds above the welterweight restriction.
Brook hasn’t made this limit since he was beaten by Spence in 2017 and there are huge concerns about Special K at 149lbs.
Khan is far more natural at this weight and that could swing things in favour of the Bolton boxer.
This is a contest that could go either way, but considering the two major factors in this fight it’s hard to see how King Khan can be the outsider. At 23-20 Khan has to be the bet to finally settle the long-running feud.
*All odds correct at time of writing