Amir Khan vs Chris Algieri: British boxer ends hope of Wembley summer showdown with Kell Brook by announcing next fight
Khan has revealed that a deal to fight American Chris Algieri on 30 May is on the verge of being sealed
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Your support makes all the difference.Amir Khan will not fight Kell Brook in his next fight after the British boxer announced former world champion Chris Algieri as his next opponent.
This week's boxing talk has been dominated by the all-British showdown between Khan and Brook in a fight that could take place at Wembley Stadium. The renewal of their welterweight rivalry comes after Brook made a successful return to the ring to defend his IBF welterweight championship against Jo Jo Dan having been stabbed in the leg last year.
That triggered talk of a meeting with Khan, as Brook called out the Bolton-boxer immediately after the bout, and Khan returned fire earlier this week, although he suggested any fight with Brook will take place once he has fought the winner of the Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao showdown at the start of May.
With that in mind, Khan announced on Thursday night that he is on the verge of finalising a deal to fight Algieri, which should take place in the American's hometown of New York on 30 May.
While the non-title welterweight bout against Algieri has not been officially rubber-stamped, Khan is happy with his choice of foe.
Khan said: "You can class him as an A-class opponent."
Algieri's only defeat in a 21-fight professional career came last November, when he was knocked down six times en route to a heavily lopsided points defeat to Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.
Yet in his previous bout, the 31-year-old American upset the odds to win a split decision over the much-feared Ruslan Provodnikov and take the Russian's WBO light-welterweight title.
Khan, himself a former champion at 140lbs, added on his wife's YouTube channel: "He has fought decent opponents, beaten decent opponents, and just fell short against Manny Pacquiao, which is an A star opponent.
"He's a decent boxer overall. He knows how to box and knows how to move well. He takes a decent amount of shots and he's got a decent amount of power, so I think overall it's going to be a good fight for me.
"Hopefully this can lead me on to the bigger fights in the future, which is what I'm looking at."
The 28-year-old has made no secret of his desire to fight the winner of the May 2 super-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Pacquiao, while he would also be keen on facing Brook in a "winner takes all" bout.
For now, though, Khan's focus is on his next opponent and he is keen to arrange the bout in New York.
Khan's only previous outing there was an 11th-round stoppage of Paulie Malignaggi at Madison Square Garden in May 2010.
This time, though, Khan wants the non-title bout at the Barclays Center as he said: "We're looking at fighting in New York, I think New York's a great venue for me.
"Having that fight in New York will be good for the UK fans in a way because it will give them a chance to travel and it won't be as far as going to (Las) Vegas.
"This time I'd like to fight at the Barclays Center, which I've never fought at."
Khan, who last fought in December last year with a one-sided points win over Devon Alexander in Las Vegas, hopes his next bout can be finalised soon.
"I'm looking forward to getting this fight announced officially by my manager and advisor Al Haymon," he added.
"They think it's the right fight for me, they want to keep me going."
Additional reporting by PA
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