Amir Khan 34-5 (21) has accused arch-nemesis Kell Brook 39-3 (27) of being a “fanboy” ahead of 149-pound catchweight bout at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England on Saturday night.
The 35-year-old from Bolton is confident he can do a number on Sheffield’s Brook, also 35, as they finally clash in the ring.
“It’s been going on for ten years,” Khan said. “This is my time to put him in his place.
“Kell has always been obsessed with my career – he’s been like a fanboy. I’ve been living in his head for such a long time.
“I’ve been having my own career. My dream was always to win a world title and then fight at the likes of Madison Square Garden and the MGM, have you face lit up on the Las Vegas Strip. Kell was campaigning over here. That’s the reason the fight didn’t happen.
“A lot of people might say it is too late, but this has been massive. I think it’s the right time.
“Knowing that this is going to be one of the biggest fights in Britain is going to give me that push too. I’m worried about Kell’s health after the beating I am going to give him.
“We’ve done enough talking. I just can’t wait to get in the ring and do a job on him.
“It’s a big thing for us. It is going to haunt us for a very long time [if we don’t win]. I’m not going to put that in my mind. That’s why I have trained so hard and left no stone unturned. I’ve done everything I need to so I can’t lose this fight.”
Brook also talked up a good fight, saying the extra time to prepare has only helped him.
“He made a mistake,” Brook said. “This fight should have happened before Christmas but I knew it was going to happen, so I have been training all that time. I’m going to be in the best possible shape to destroy him.”
Their rivalry runs long and deep, extending back to before either man turned pro.
“It goes back to the amateur days,” he said. “He was at 60kg, I was at 63.5kg. We went to the England team. He knew exactly who I was. He went to the Olympics and got a big signing-on fee. We were with the same promoter, Frank Warren, and we were always promised that we would fight down the line.
“But he has said in many interviews ‘who is Kell Brook?’ He has never given me that respect. I don’t like Amir, he don’t like me.
“We are three sleeps away. He is definitely going to sleep Saturday night when I smash him in.”
Brook promised to retire Khan in the fight.
“After Saturday, nobody is going to be interested,” he said. “You can go to Dubai and carry on doing what you are doing, that’s the end of you.”
