Now, there’s a surprise.

Following years of public acrimony from both sides, Amir Khan and Eddie Hearn appear to have made up as the former unified junior welterweight titleholder returns to action on April 21 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, in what will be the first of three fights under the Matchoom Boxing banner.

In his most recent outing, in May 2016, Khan was spectacularly knocked out in six rounds by THE RING middleweight champion, Canelo Alvarez. Prior to that setback, the former Olympic silver medalist from Athens 2004 had outpointed three ex-titleholders in succession: Luis Collazo, Devon Alexander and Chris Algieri.

“I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Matchroom,” said Khan (31-4, 19 knockouts). “This decision is not one I’ve taken lightly as I’m at a hugely important time in my career. But having spoken to Eddie at length, it was clear he and I were on the same page in terms of what I want to be doing and what I still want to achieve. I’m determined to win another world championship and I’m confident I’ve got the right team behind me to help me do so.

“Just as important a factor was the opportunity to fight in the U.K. for the first time in seven years and to do so with the support of the British fans and Sky Sports. British boxing is in such a good place and I genuinely can’t wait to get back in that ring with the incredible home support behind me.”

Hearn, who also promotes Khan’s bitter rival Kell Brook, has already laid out a dance card for this year.

“The plan is to box in April and then again in August or September in preparation for a superfight in winter 2018,” said the promoter. “The target is to provide him with the biggest fights possible with a mouthwatering list of names including the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Kell Brook, Keith Thurman and Errol Spence. I’m excited to get started and looking forward to a huge night of boxing on April 21.”

Information courtesy of a press release issued by Matchroom Boxing

Tom Gray is Associate Editor for THE RING. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

Struggling to locate a copy of THE RING Magazine? Try here or
Subscribe

You can order the current issue, which is on newsstands, or back issues from our subscribe page.