By: Sean Crose
For now, it’s pretty safe that British colleagues Amir Khan and Kell Brook don’t like each other. Nothing. While the two haven’t gone head-to-head as they are in their respective and impressive primes, they will finally get it this Saturday at Manchester Arena in the UK. During Thursday’s press conference to promote the fight, things went awry, not just between Brook and Khan, but also between their respective coaches. For a match that is considered by many to be past the semi-final date, there seems to be a considerable amount of bad blood between the two gladiators and their camp.
Khan said: ‘I just watched a video where you said you were going to smack my poppadom’s chin. “Isn’t that racist?” Brook was withheld by moderators from responding, but Khan continued the topic to the media afterward. “I never liked talking about racism but this really pissed me off,” he said, “It hurt me. He should remember that in Sheffield he has a lot of Pakistani and Indian fans.” Brook told the media that “I’m not racist.” He went on to add: ‘My only thought when I said you cracked the poppadom as if I was going to crack his chin. He’s just trying to get people on his side.”
According to Daily mail, “The couple has been embroiled in a fierce feud since they were actors.” When Brook pointed out that he and Khan had shared a room during their amateur days, Khan called him out. “That doesn’t sound right,” he said. “Listen, I don’t share a room with you, don’t say that. That doesn’t sound right, Kell, especially given what I’ve heard. ” Brook responded with “it was you who went to gay websites and you went.”
The coaches also took turns in verbal exploits. Dominic Ingle, Brook’s coach, said: “I was surprised when Amir joined the match. Brian McIntyre, who trained Terence Crawford to win against both Brook and Khan, is now in Khan’s corner. “Kell only went three rounds,” he said of Brook’s fight with Crawford. “Amir really came to fight.” Although off-railway press conferences have a way of attracting attention, the animosity between Brook and Khan seems to be real. “We have three more sleeps,” Brook said of Khan. “He was definitely going to bed on Saturday night when I banged him in.”
