Amir Khan must prove he isn't "finished" if he wants to earn a rematch with rival Kell Brook.
The pair finally clashed last month in a highly-anticipated fight which had been years in the making, but Brook comfortably won with a TKO in the sixth round, killing almost all interest in a rematch. Sky Sports and Boxxer bosses had indicated that if the fight were interesting they would be willing to do it again.
But when Brook handily defeated Khan at the AO Arena in Manchester, focuses were instead moved to organising a fight between the Sheffield fighter and Chris Eubank Jr for this summer. And even if Khan exercises his rematch clause, the broadcaster is not keen to put on a second bout between the pair until Khan has won a tune-up fight.
"Amir I think will fight," said Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom. "He will fight again, he wants to fight again. I think he has understood why it might be a tough sell to go straight back into a Kell Brook fight.
"I believe him that he was injured [against Brook] - I do believe that there were some issues with the camp and he only had 10 weeks. It's for him to prove he's not finished, it's for him to prove it's not just about the money, and therefore I think another fight to show that might be more appropriate before he takes on someone like Kell Brook."
And while it appears that Brook is keen to move on to another opponent after settling his years-long rivalry with Khan, he hasn't ruled out fighting him again. He told Sky Sports News that if the promoters want it, he would happily face Khan for a second time given the success of their first fight.
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"If he wants another whooping he can have another whooping," Brook said. "It was so one-sided, I don't know what he can say and come back to the table with. If he wants that rematch, I'll dust them gloves off and do it again."
It was expected after he struggled to find his footing in their February bout that Brook would retire from the sport. But his brother Haroon Khan said in a recent Instagram post that he would be pushing for the rematch, which he believes he can win.
"It wasn’t the result we wanted," Haroon said in a caption of a photo of the pair together. "No excuses but that isn’t the way AK was that night but the heart he showed and what he gives to the fans is what matters. Bring on the rematch and let’s get things changed and get the win."
