I’ve never been this strong – Amir Khan ready for Kell Brook grudge match

Amir Khan believes he is in the shape of his life ahead of his long-awaited bout against British rival Kell Brook following help from an unlikely source in recent months.

In preparation for the 149lb catchweight contest in Manchester on Saturday, Khan trained alongside Terence Crawford after linking up with the WBO welterweight champion’s coach Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre in the Colorado mountains.

Eyebrows were initially raised given Crawford defeated Khan in a largely one-sided contest in April 2019, although the Nebraskan southpaw was similarly dominant in dispatching Brook inside four rounds the following year.

“I’m ready, honestly,” Khan said. “It’s the hardest I’ve ever trained, I’ve never been this fit, this strong and I can’t wait to show everyone who the boss is. I’ll win this fight and in good style, Kell’s not got a chance.

“Every fight you have to be confident and I’m very confident because training camp has not been easy, being away from my family, my friends, my kids, that’s what’s given me the push and motivated me to train very hard.

“Having Terence Crawford here is a massive motivation for me. He’s the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, he’s fought me and Kell and the advice he has been giving me in training camp has been brilliant.

“There was never a day I had easy. I’ll do you all proud, it’s the best Amir Khan that’s going to come on Saturday.”

Khan and Brook, both 35, have been at loggerheads for around a decade, but a fight when they were at their respective peaks failed to materialise, to the frustration of boxing fans in this country.

But tickets for this weekend’s headliner at the AO Arena selling out in just 10 minutes shows there remains an appetite to discover who will claim the bragging rights, even if there is a suspicion both fighters have faded.

“We don’t like each other,” Khan said on Sky Sports. “We have not liked each other for 10 years. I know I will have my hands full.

“Kell looks in great shape, fit and ready. This is the biggest fight of his career, so he is going to be in the best shape he has ever been in. But he has already given his game plan away and said that he is looking for a knockout.

“We are going to be too smart for him, too slick for him, and I really believe that once I land my shots I will really hurt him and I see him not making it.”

The pair had to be pulled apart by security at an ill-tempered press conference when the bout was announced in November and Khan feels his opponent might let his emotions get the better of him as fight week progresses.

“Kell is already wound up,” Khan added. “I am going to keep calm and chilled, but anything can happen in boxing. This could pop off before the fight. When we did the face-off last time it didn’t go too well.”

Brook shrugged off being booed by a large contingent of onlookers on Wednesday as the Yorkshireman insisted he would make Khan pay for this fight not occurring last year.

“He has made a big mistake messing me about for the past seven months,” Brook told Sky Sports. “This fight should have happened before Christmas. I should have spent Christmas with my family.

“[The animosity] is absolutely real. We are both in fantastic shape, we are not playing games, we are coming to give it a go, and you are going to see fireworks. There are no games being played. This is for real.”