BROOK VS KHAN PREVIEW AND BETTING TIP

It’s been a while since our last boxing preview. We were right about Fury winning by stoppage, unfortunately we got the timing wrong. At least The Nordic Nightmare didn’t let us down. We advised Helenius to beat Kownacki by KO at 4.00 and that is exactly what happened. This weekend we will be previewing one of the most overdue fights in recent history, Brook vs Khan.

These two fighters are both past their sell by dates and they are bringing plenty of scar tissue into the ring. Will one of Brook’s dodgy eye sockets cost him the fight? Or will Khan’s glass chin let him down yet again? Find out in Dave Stevos’ big fight preview below.

BROOK VS KHAN: THE TALE OF THE TAPE

Kell Brook

Special K was last sighted taking one hell of a beating from Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford. That fight was in November 2020 so he has been out of the ring for some time. It was a crushing defeat for the Sheffield fighter but there is no shame in losing to Crawford. It is a fate that has befallen every one of his 38 opponents. Previous to that defeat Brook had racked up three wins in a row, knocking out Mark DeLuca and Sergey Rabchenko and comfortably winning vs Michael Zerafa on points.

Brook’s only other two defeats came against top class operators. He was stopped by Gennady Golovkin after fracturing his right eye socket. Eroll Spence then went and broke his left eye socket, stopping Brook in the 11th. Brook actually enjoyed early success in the fight vs Golovkin and he was ahead on one of the judge’s cards when disaster struck. The Spence fight was close enough too when it was brought to a halt.

They remain Brook’s only three defeats and he has beaten some decent fighters during his career. His crowning glory came in 2014 when he shocked the world and became a World Champion by beating Shawn Porter on points. Brook is a decent boxer and it is a big plus that Dominic Ingle is back in his corner for this fight. He can bang too and the key to victory for Brook in this bout is simple – just land a big one on Khan’s chin.

Amir Khan

Amir ‘King’ Khan has been inactive for even longer than Kell Brook. His last fight was in Saudi Arabia where he defeated Aussie journeyman Billy Dib. Previous to that bloodless win he had lost two of his previous four fights, both by extremely heavy knockouts vs Saul Alvarez and Bud Crawford. Four of his five career losses have come by KO and his opponents all know that it only takes one big punch and it will be lights out.

Khan’s career has been in a downward spiral for a while now. He is a fighter that relies heavily on speed and reflexes and they are often the first things to go when a boxer gets older. When he was at his best, Khan was a joy to watch. He was so quick, had excellent footwork and while he was no knockout artist, he did carry a nice bit of power. He had heart too, as he showed in an epic win against Marcos Maidana.

What version of Amir Khan will we see on Saturday night? It is hard to know because we haven’t seen him fight for the guts of three years. Has he lost more speed and more importantly, what is his punch resistance going to be like? Brook possesses plenty of power and if Khan gets caught early, he’ll be in a world of trouble. If Khan is to win he’ll have to use his superior footwork and movement to avoid big shots and he needs to get in and out quickly when he is on the attack.

BROOK VS KHAN PREDICTION AND BETTING TIP

What a pity it is that this fight didn’t happen seven or eight years ago. Khan always made out that Brook was a level below him and that is why he wouldn’t fight him. However, I think he knows that Brook has the tools to beat him and that is why he avoided him for all those years. If these two were still at their peaks, I would strongly fancy Brook to knock Khan out. To be honest, my opinion on this fight remains exactly the same.

I had to laugh at the comments from Khan questioning Brook’s chin earlier this week. The Bolton boxer’s chin is glassier than The Shard and once Special K connects cleanly with a power shot, I can see his legs turning to jelly. The longer the fight goes, the more chance one of Brook’s old eye injuries flares up so he’ll be keen to get Khan out of there early. I’m backing Kell Brook to win by KO/TKO/DQ at odds of 2.44 and also Brook to win in rounds 1-4 at odds of 11.00.

BROOK VS KHAN betting TIP: Brook by ko/tko dq @ 2.44 (Betfair exchange); Brook to win in rounds 1-4 @ 11.00 (Boyles, Skybet)

-DaveStevos