Former junior welterweight champ Amir Khan crossed some sort of line recently when speaking at a charity event in London. When asked about countryman/rival Kell Brook, the Olympic silver medalist tried to pull Brook out of a closet he may or may not actually be in.
"How much confidence does this guy have? I’ve been told by numerous guys that he’s not a confident guy...There's talk about him being gay,” Khan said in the video interview. “If you are a real man, come out and say it, 'you know, I'm gay and it is what it is.’ Come on out and tell the truth....If he's a confident man, he needs to come out and tell the world who he really is...”
Khan then referenced a 2014 incident where Brook, in Spain vacationing with his pregnant wife, was stabbed in the leg and suffered a deep, dangerous laceration. According to Khan’s not-so- indirect claims, the injury was due to Brook making a romantic move on an unwilling male.
“Tell us what happened when he got stabbed that one time,” Khan demanded, “...was it because he tried...to get on with some poor guy...These are things I've been told by his own camp...He's living a crazy life.”
It’s hard to know what to make of all this. Khan and Brook have been tied to a UK welterweight superfight for years now and the general impression is that Khan has been the one unwilling to actually commit to the bout. And even to this day, Khan seems to be the one chasing other opportunities as fans and media call for Khan-Brook while it still matters. The Bolton fighter has most recently been tied to a bout with WBO welterweight champ Terence Crawford for a reported $5 million purse.
UK newspaper, The Sun, reached out to Brook and got a terse “rubbish” claim from the former IBF 147 lb. champ.
However, a person referred to as “a source” said the following: "Kell Brook is not making any comment on this because he would rather concentrate on getting the fight arranged and knocking him out of the ring."
Khan and Brook are currently both represented by promoter Eddie Hearn, however that shared representation has thus far not worked to get this fight any closer to actually being signed.
Is this “he’s gay” routine some sort of bizarre lead-in to a major fight between the two former world titlists or is it merely Khan lashing out at a man he’s been accused of avoiding? If this craziness is all about promotion for a stadium fight next year, it sure is a weird way to get some buzz going.