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Khan ignites war of words with Kell Brook

Khan ignites war of words with Kell Brook

THE war of words has again started ahead of the grudge fight on February 19 and this time Amir Khan calling Kell Brook was "always smoke, always talk".

Khan and Brook's long rivalry since teenage years will be settled at Manchester's AO Arena in one of Britain's biggest fight in years.


"One of the reasons why I took the fight was because of the public demand," Khan told Sky Sports. "The first press conference showed that we don't really like each other. It's war! We're going to go in there and it's going to be a fight.

"We're not friends and obviously we do dislike each other, but I'm going to show people why I'm the better fighter on fight night.

"When I do a clinical job on him and I destroy him people will realise he was always smoke, he was always talk."

Khan has been training hard for the last 10 weeks in Colorado Springs in the US and it has been "brutal", under the watchful eyes of former opponent Terence Crawford and trainer BoMac.

"I know I've done everything that I've needed to to go into this fight. I'm fit, ready and strong to win this fight. It's going to be tough but I'm going to go in there and do what I do best," he was quoted as saying.

"I feel sharp, I feel good, the weight's amazing - I'm literally there on the weight, so I can't wait to get in the ring and fight."

A former unified super-lightweight world champion, Khan has not been in a professional in the last three years, but is confident of reaching the weight of 149 pounds before the fight.

"I wanted the fight at 147, but Kell didn't want to do the fight at 147. He wanted to do 149 so obviously we had to agree with that and I agreed with it, but it gives me another couple of pounds of muscle to put on and strength so come fight night I'll be a lot more stronger," Khan said.

"Two pounds makes a massive difference. People may not realise how much of a difference it's going to make but it's going to be a little bit easier for me to make that weight and it might make things a little bit easy for me.

"It's going to be the first time where I'm going to be at a weight where I feel comfortable."

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Government considers £100 weekly payments to move asylum seekers out of hotels

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  • Asylum seekers could receive £100 per week on top of existing £49.18 support to leave hotels.
  • Currently over 32,000 migrants housed in 200 hotels costing £145 per night or £5.5 m daily.
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The government is considering paying asylum seekers £100 a week to leave taxpayer-funded hotels and live with family or friends in the UK. Home Office officials have proposed the scheme as part of prime minister Keir Starmer's drive to accelerate the closure of asylum hotels. The weekly payment would come on top of the existing £49.18 support for living costs that migrants in hotels currently receive. The plan, set to be trialled in 2026, could reduce accommodation costs to a seventh of current spending. More than 32,000 migrants are currently housed in 200 hotels at an average cost of £145 per night or £1,015 a week. This compares with £23.25 a night for other dispersal accommodation in communities. The total bill for asylum hotels stands at £5.5 m a day, or £2.1 bn a year. Labour has pledged to stop their use by the end of this term in 2029, though suggestions indicate Starmer has privately set a one-year target.


The government has earmarked two former military barracks in Inverness, Scotland, and Crowborough, East Sussex, to house 900 migrants from the end of November as part of the hotel closure plan.


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