Former IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook is still confident a fight against rival Amir Khan will take place later this year.
Brook has been campaigning for a fight with fellow Brit Khan for several years. Following Khan's first round knockout win against Phil Lo Greco in 2018, Brook entered the ring and called him out.
Nothing came of the call-out with both Brook and Khan going on to pick up a few wins before being stopped by WBO champion Terence Crawford.
Recently gate crashing iFL TV's interview with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, Brook said the fight "has to happen" this year.
“I’ve been quiet [on the fight] because there’s more of a chance of it happening then. When I’m loud. Listen, that’s the fight that’s happening. Get to it, Khan. Listen, put it on a little contract, and we’re there. There’s a lot of talks. This year it’s happening; it’s got to happen," Brook said.
“I think bar Fury-AJ, I still think it’s the biggest fight in British boxing. I think everyone will still get very excited about that fight. He [Hearn] knows I want that fight."
Brook won the IBF title in 2014 against Shawn Porter. He defended it three times before losing it when he was stopped by Errol Spence in 2017.
Khan has not fought since stopping Billy Dip in four rounds back in July 2019. The 34-year-old also believes it's the right time for a fight with Brook to happen.
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"I think now is the right time to make that fight happen with Kell. We both have been world champions. We're both British and in the north as well," Khan said.
"Imagine making a huge fight like that happen at the Old Trafford football stadium. It would be a massive fight."
Hearn believes the fight will happen in November or December of this year.
Whilst he is confident the fight will happen, he's unsurprised both fighters want to get fairly compensated for it. Hearn also believes Khan's team are being unrealistic about the number of pay-per-view buys the fight would sell.
"I spoke to Amir's lawyer yesterday. I couldn't have been more honest with you, they want to see who pays him the most money and then they'll do the fight. Like everything, you have a price that you put a fight like that," Hearn said.
"If that suits up with them, we'll do it. I think some people are telling them it does buys on Sky pay-per-view that, quite frankly, it doesn't even get close to. But it's still a good fight, I'd like to do it as it's unfinished business.
