Boxing News 2015: Amir Khan To Face Chris Algieri on May 30, Kell Brook Expresses Frustration
Amir Khan announced that he will go up against Chris Algieri in his next fight on May 30 in New York instead of agreeing to an all-British showdown with reigning International Boxing Federation welterweight champion Kell Brook.
Khan, who holds a 30-3 record with 19 knockouts, has been looking for a fight against a big-name fighter, but his top two choices -- Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- are not available as the two boxing superstars are scheduled to collide on May 2 in Las Vegas.
Khan's announcement came as a surprise because Algieri, a New York native, is coming off a lopsided loss to Pacquiao in their World Boxing Organization welterweight title fight in November. Defending his decision, the Briton said that Algieri is a decent foe and has defeated good fighters before losing to the Filipino boxing icon.
"He has fought decent opponents, beaten decent opponents, and just fell short against Manny Pacquiao, which is an A star opponent," Khan said of Algieri on a video posted on his wife's YouTube channel. "He's a decent boxer overall. He knows how to box and knows how to move well."
Khan said that Algieri is a good choice for him and he is hoping a win against the former light welterweight champion will lead to a big-money fight later this year.
"I think overall it's going to be a good fight for me," Khan added. "Hopefully this can lead me on to the bigger fights in the future, which is what I'm looking at."
Khan's decision did not sit well with Brook, who has expressed interest in defending his IBF welterweight title against Khan following the 28-year-old's fourth-round knockout win against Jo Jo Dan on Saturday in United Kingdom. Brook said that he cannot see any reason why Khan opted to face Algieri instead of agreeing to title fight with him.
"He's fighting Algieri who didn't win a round against Pacquiao, a feather puncher, not a big puncher. It doesn't make sense to me," Brook told The Guardian. "I'm world champion, I'm calling him out, we want the fight, there's a world title and a bagful of money and it doesn't make sense that he's fighting this guy who's bringing nothing to the table."
Khan took to Twitter to react on Brook's statement. The 28-year-old Bolton, England native said that Algieri is way better than Brook's latest opponent "No No Dan" and reiterated that he is willing to face Brook when he thinks it is the right fight for him.
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