Amir Khan reveals KSI fight timeline amid offer to replace Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul
Associated PressAmir Khan is hopeful his proposed fight against KSI will be announced in the “next four weeks” and has warned the YouTube star and his rival Jake Paul that he plans to knock both of them out in his next two fights.
Khan, a former unified super-lightweight world champion, has not fought since a high profile defeat to long time British rival Kell Brook in February 2022.
The 37-year-old has recently returned from a two-year ban for unintentionally ingesting the banned substance ostarine and although he is officially retired from the professional boxing game, he is said to be considering a return to the ring.
It has emerged that he is in talks with influencer boxing superstar KSI over a fight in the UK in August, and Khan took to social media to reveal his plan to not only beat KSI in 2024, but also Paul in the early part of 2025.
And now Khan has revealed he is hopeful of getting a fight announcement with KSI within the next four weeks.
“If it was to be signed and done, I think we will get an announcement in the next four weeks and then we will start to prepare,” Khan told Offshore Poker Sites.
“The UK [is my preference] because boxing fans always turn out and everyone in the UK will want me to smash his face in. He’s picking someone who’s very dangerous and can hurt him quite badly.”
Should he beat KSI, Khan wants to fight Paul after his bout with Mike Tyson. Paul vs Tyson was initially scheduled for July 20 but was postponed on medical grounds, after Tyson took ill on a flight from Los Angeles to Miami.
Netflix are said to be determined to ensure Paul vs Tyson is the first boxing event they broadcast and are said to have swatted away possible replacements to fight Paul on the initial July date.
As such, that fight is expected to be rearranged for the final quarter of 2024 and, although Khan would have been willing to replace Tyson in July, he is keen to entertain a fight with Paul if he beats the former heavyweight champion of the world.
“Mike Tyson is long past his best and really doesn’t have it in anymore, but I’ve still got it in me. I’m still training and keeping fit. He’s messing around with someone who just recently retired,” Khan added.
“They want to get lawyers involved and everything, the negotiations have got that far. I’m a prizefighter and if it makes sense financially then 100% [it will happen]. These YouTubers sometimes bite off more than they can chew.
“He’s said he wants to fight and when the contract is signed, he’s going to get hurt. He will understand then that there’s no turning back then. He might be taking the fight for a bit of hype, but I’m not taking it as a joke.
“If the weights are right [I would step in for Mike Tyson] I don’t mind giving away 20 pounds. It just depends on the weight because I know Jake has put on a lot of weight to fight Mike.
“Jake’s not normally that big, but he’s put on a lot of mass, so it depends on him, whether he’s willing to lose that weight and we find some middle ground somewhere.
“Let’s see, but I’ve had no calls about that, so I assume they’re still hoping to fight Mike, he’s not going to want to take a beating before that.
“But it’s KSI who has been speaking the big game and once he’s taken a beating, and if I’m going to do that, I may as well bang both of them out. I’d take on KSI first and then knock Jake Paul out after that.
“Let’s see how he looks against Mike Tyson, if he gets knocked out badly I wouldn’t entertain it, but if he looks really good, then it would be worth entertaining.”
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