2018 could be the year of the all-British showdown.
With Tony Bellew set to rematch David Haye in May and Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury a faint possibility before the year is out, the heavyweight division has plenty of grudge matches featuring British fighters on the horizon.
But another rivalry at a lower weight class which will garner plenty of interest is that which is brimming between Kell Brook and Amir Khan.
The pair have been linked with one another for years but their paths have never crossed in the ring.
However all signs are pointing towards Brook vs. Khan in 2018 after the former got back to winning ways with a quick knockout victory on Saturday night.
Well that was quick https://t.co/aqvShw99pB
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) March 3, 2018
Brook needed just two rounds to put opponent Sergey Rabchenko away in his first fight in almost a year and after returning to the win column in his native Sheffield, ‘The Special One’ revealed his ideal next opponent.
“Forget about the weight, it’d be Khan but I think it’d be a lot harder to get him signed than a world title fight,” Brook said.
“I think everybody wants to see that fight. We’ve got Eddie Hearn here and we’re both promoted by him so why can’t we make it happen now?
“We can’t sit here and talk about it after I’ve just had a fight. We need to sit down, talk about the weight and we need to make that fight.”
Now that both fighters are contracted to Matchroom, it seems like a no-brainer to have them do battle for all the bragging rights.
Promoter Eddie Hearn admitted that it would make complete sense to have Brook take on Matchroom’s latest big-name signing, provided Khan comes through his comeback fight unscathed.
“Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook is the fight we’ve wanted for three or four years,” Hearn said.
“Khan fights on April 21 in Liverpool. He’s got to come through. Kell Brook has passed the test.
“Amir Khan has got to pass the test on April 21 live on Sky Sports. Kell will be ringside for that as well.
Back in business. I will fight on April 21st in Liverpool pic.twitter.com/UqgmCNwKmb
— Amir Khan (@amirkingkhan) January 10, 2018
“Kell wants to fight in June, that’s when he’s next going to be out. He will be back to the gym on Monday. Let’s get busy and let’s make up for lost time.
“He’s got to win and of course later in 2018, my job is to give you what you want and that’s Amir Khan vs. Kell Brook. Everybody wants to see it, it’s the fight that we need to see.”
