Finally, after the best part of a decade, white-hot rivals Amir Khan and Kell Brook are all set to square off.

The all-British 149-pound catchweight clash goes down at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, on Saturday and, despite the wait, this matchup has still managed to capture the imagination.

Khan (34-5, 21 KOs), 35, looked to be in excellent fighting shape and was only a touch over the welterweight limit at 147.5 pounds. The Olympic silver medalist and former unified 140-pound titleholder will be having his first fight since July 2019.

Brook (39-3, 27 KOs), 35, was also in fabulous shape, but he was noticeably drawn around the face. The former IBF welterweight titleholder defied a lot of expectations by making the contract limit, coming in at 148.5 pounds.

“The weight wasn’t an issue because this is a fight I can get up for,” said Brook during an interview with Sky Sports. “I feel amazing and I’ve done all the hard work. Now it’s about fueling up and coming in calm, cool and collected.”

The pair sounded off at each other during the head-to-head stare down, but all the talk is now over.

Photo by Lawrence Lustig

Photo by Lawrence Lustig

Photo by Lawrence Lustig

Tom Gray is Managing Editor for Ring Magazine. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

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