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Crawford v. Khan reportedly official for Madison Square Garden showdown

The World’s Most Famous Arena may very well be getting a clash between two of boxing’s best.

In 2010, Amir Khan made his U.S. debut inside Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater. He beat Brooklyn’s Paul Malignaggi via TKO in round eleven to retain his WBO Light-Welterweight Title for the second time. For the first time since that bout, “King” Khan will reportedly be returning to MSG to face one of the msot dominant fighters today in Terence Crawford.

It was previously announced that Crawford (34-0) would be defending his WBO Welterweight Title against Khan (33-4) on April 20th. The only concern was which venue would be the one to house these two fighters. It appears we have our answer, as MSG will be the place to be.

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With the deal, it is expected there will be no UK PPV deal. The fight is also expected to be on ESPN programming, thanks to the partnership with Top Rank.

Crawford recently defeated Jose Benavidez Jr. via TKO back in October. He is currently on a three-fight KO streak, taking out Benavidez, Jeff Horn and Julius Indongo via the power punch.

There are many speculating that Crawford is ducking Kell Brook (38-2) to take on Khan, who is on a two-fight win streak after losing to Canelo Alvarez back in 2016. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum doesn’t believe any of that to be the case.

“I remember Amir Khan when he was an amateur and what great skills he has and had,” Arum stated “It will be a real test for Bud Crawford to fight Amir Khan. I really think Amir has been one of the best welterweights around. And I think it’s going to be a great, great fight on April 20.”

For Khan, this is a chance to prove he can face the very best boxing has to offer. With a two-year break out of the way, Khan is looking for his third win in a row. This will be Khan’s third fight in New York; after his showing inside the Hulu Theater, Khan defeated Long Island’s Chris Algieri inside the Barclays Center in 2015.

Crawford has fought inside MSG twice, taking care of Hank Lundy and Felix Diaz. He will look for that lucky third win against Khan.

Power against power is the name of the game in this fight. The man concern is whether Crawford is ready for steeper competition like Khan, even if many are doubting his elite status. For Kahn, there is the idea he may be in over his head like the Canelo fight.

If there is one thing that makes a fight like this intriguing, it is the notion that both fighters have something to fight for. Tickets for Crawford v. Khan have not been released yet. Assuming it still takes place inside MSG, stay tuned for more details.

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Baseball Editor, Misc. Sports Editor. Covers all things combat sports (MMA, Pro Wrestling and Boxing). When he's not writing, Daniel hosts a podcast, The Main Event.
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