Amir Khan and Kell Brook argue over alleged racist comment in pre-fight press conference
Amir Khan and Kell Brook press conference descends into an ugly farce as fighters trade homophobic slurs and argue over an alleged racist comment by Brook about smashing Khan’s ‘poppadom chin’
Tensions boiled as Amir Khan and Kell Brook came face-to-face on Thursday The pair exchanged a barrage of insults at their pre-fight press conferenceKhan questioned his opponent about comments about his ‘poppadom chin’ They also exchanged homophobic slurs as the presser turned ugly
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Thursday’s pre-fight press conference ahead of the long-awaited grudge match between Amir Khan and Kell Brook descended into an ugly farce as the pair exchanged homophobic jibes in Manchester.
During a heated exchange, Khan also questioned the alleged racist comments made by his opponent, asking the Sheffield fighter why he had made remarks about smashing in his ‘poppadom chin’.
The pair have been embroiled in a fierce feud ever since they were amateurs, where Olympian Khan insists he would ‘school’ his impending opponent, and the tensions once again boiled over just two days ahead of the bout at the Manchester Arena.
The press conference between Amir Khan (left) and Kell Brook (right) descended into an ugly farce on Thursday afternoon
The pair hurled homophobic insults at each other, while Khan questioned allegedly racist comments made by Brook
Brook, explaining where the bitter rivalry has come from, revealed the pair had actually shared a room together while on the England team in the amateur days.
Khan swiftly interjected, stating: ‘That doesn’t sound right… don’t laugh. Listen, I haven’t shared a room with you, don’t be saying that. That doesn’t right, Kell, especially with the stuff I’ve heard.’
The Bolton fighter insisted he wouldn’t delve into the details when the Sheffield fighter asked him to elaborate, but a clearly angered Brook then responded with: ‘It’s you who was on gay sites ‘w****** yourself off.’
Adam Smith of Sky Sports attempted to diffuse the situation, but Khan then questioned his opponent over comments he had allegedly previously made.
‘You know I saw a video where you said that you were going to smash that poppadom chin in. You said that, didn’t you?’
Brook quickly questioned whether Khan as calling him racist, to which Khan responded: ‘Yeah, the way you sad that was really sad. You shouldn’t have said that.’
Explaining what he meant by the insult, Brook stated: ‘Everyone knows they’re very fragile, like your chin.’
The pair, who faced off at the end of an intense press conference, both fired homophobic slurs at each other
Khan questioned why Brook had made comments about smashing his ‘poppadom chin’
The pair also got into a heated exchange over the outcome of Saturday night’s Box Office event, with Khan insisting his major concern is the health of his long-term rival.
‘I’m worried about a few things,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘I’m worried about Kell’s health after the beating that I’m going to give him.
‘The beating he’s going to get is something he’s never got before and all the talking as well, we’re going to definitely put him in his place.
’10 years this has been going on for, this is my time to put him in his place. One thing I want to say, I think Kell has been very obsessed with my career, I think he’s a fanboy, that’s the honest truth.
‘I’ve been in his head for so long, probably need to start paying rent. We’ll go in there, put the words to a side, I can’t wait to get into the ring and put it to him.’
Khan warned he’s going to given Brook a beating he’s never experienced in his career before
Brook, who also revealed he may come in above the catchweight of 149lbs on Saturday night, which he would be fined heavily for, insisted he will get the knockout win.
‘We’re three sleeps away, he’s definitely going to sleep on Saturday night when I smash him in,’ he said. ‘We’re days away, he can say what he’s saying, after Saturday, nobody will care, you can go to Dubai and carry on doing what you’re doing.
‘Seven months we’ve been talking about this fight, I’ve been training since. It was agreed and then he came back to the table to change the contract again, it seems to be that he has only taken this fight because he thinks I’m half broken.
‘He’s made a massive mistake. I’ve been in Fuertaventura for six weeks, the world is going to see me going in there and destroying him.’
It wasn’t just Saturday night’s protagonists who got into a fierce argument at the press conference, with their respective trainers getting into a heated exchange.
Khan’s trainer Brian McIntyre (L) and Brook’s trainer Dominic Ingle (R) also exchanged insults
Trainer Dominic Ingle, who Brook has reunited with for the mammoth event, insisted they are surprised Khan accepted the fight.
‘I am surprised that Amir took the fight,’ he said. He is a celebrity, a superstar. He has more to lose than to gain. I expected more from Brian who is a good talker. He likes to shout. He thinks he knows a lot about Brook.
‘Khan is a good talker. But on the night there won’t be any talking. I believe Kell has more left, more in the tank.’
In preparation for the bout, Khan opted to work with Brian McIntyre, the coach of pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford, who has trained alongside the Bolton star throughout. Crawford holds recent wins over both Khan and Brook.
McIntyre stated: ‘Kell only went three rounds [against Crawford]. ‘Amir actually came to fight.’
The American continued: ‘He’s good for four rounds. He’s got nothing left. We trained for 12 rounds but, if the stoppage is there, we will go for it.’
Khan and Brook will come together once again at Friday’s weigh-in, where they will square off one final time before the bout itself on Saturday night.
