Amir Khan, 32, revealed two reasons why he rejected a big-money fight with Kell Brook today after announcing he'll travel to America to take on Terence Crawford instead.
WBO welterweight king Crawford will put his strap on the line against Khan in either Las Vegas or New York on April 20, leaving Brook's dream of a domestic dust-up in the gutter.
After today's press conference, Khan blamed long-term rival Brook for their fight not being signed, he told The Sportsman:
"He's [Brook] talked himself out of the fight. If he really wanted the fight he'd be quiet and the fight would come to him and he's not doing that.
He's killing the fight, he couldn't even sell out his hometown arena when he fought in Sheffield - that's one thing that's wrong.
The second thing - if I was to fight him at Wembley, I'd have to sell the fight off my own back. That's a lot more pressure on me."
Khan now faces a much tougher test in the form Terence "Bud" Crawford.
The American is an unbeaten, three-weight world champion and widely considered to be one of the sport's top three fighters.
The 31-year-old is a heavy favourite with the bookies with one leading name offering a Crawford victory at 1/10. As it stands, you can get a Khan win at around 11/2.
On paper, Crawford looks to have Khan's number, but the man from Nebraska is not overlooking his British opponent.
“You could say this is my hardest fight. Amir Khan’s still dangerous, still fast, still got the experience, been a welterweight longer than me. But we’re not taking any shortcuts in this fight," said Crawford.
When we caught up with Khan earlier, he talked to us about Terence Crawford, Kell Brook and the potential to become a legend.
Amir Khan talks to the press about his April 20th showdown with Terence Crawford...
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