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‘It was just drama’ – Amir Khan ‘nearly left the venue’ during row over Kell Brook’s gloves and fight was almost AXED

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AMIR KHAN ‘nearly left the venue’ following a row over Kell Brook’s gloves which almost caused the fight to be AXED.

Brook accused Khan of making several demands to finally get their bitter grudge match signed and sealed.

Kell Brook was forced to take off his Fly glovesCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Kell Brook had to change to a pair of Grant glovesCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun

And it emerged horsehair gloves – often used by power punchers as it offers less protection – was contractually prohibited.

Brook, 35, walked out with a pair of Fly gloves on but bizarrely changed to a pair of Grants – the same ones Khan wore – while in the ring.

But promoter Ben Shalom revealed that the last-gasp dispute almost saw the fight scrapped at the last minute.

Shalom said on talkSPORT: “There was a contract in place that Amir Khan requested there was no horse hair in the gloves.

“Horsehair, unbeknown to me, my team and even some members of the board, is in 90 per cent of gloves.

“It was in 100 per cent of gloves 20 or 30 years ago. It got to the night. They passed the gloves on Friday night and everything went.

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“We opened a pair of gloves very similar to what Kell had and horse hair was found in them and it absolutely kicked off.

“Amir nearly left the venue. Dominic Ingle told me he knew what he was doing all along, and refused to change the gloves. 

“Eventually, at the 11th hour, Kell agreed to change his gloves in the ring, which you saw.”

Khan refused to fight until Brook swapped gloves, which he did in the ring under the watchful eye of Robert Smith of the British Boxing Board of Control.

But as Shalom points out, it mattered little as Brook dominated the fight before it was halted in round six.

The promoter said: “It was just drama. It was 50/50 as to whether that fight would happen.

“They were both convinced they weren’t going to go out. Amir was not going to go out unless Kell changed his gloves.

“In the end, credit to Kell as he changed his gloves and it didn’t really make a difference.”

Amir Khan, wearing the same gloves as Kell Brook, was beaten in round sixCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun

Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk

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