Amir Khan and Kell Brook 'in talks' for 2017 fight, confirms Eddie Hearn, as Twitter spat reignites between two rivals

Both Khan and Brook are coming off heavy defeats and have clashed before, with a welterweight bout expected to take place in May 2017

Amir Khan claimed he will be the second man to batter Kell Brook after Gennady Golovkin (Getty)

Amir Khan and Kell Brook “are in talks” over a British showdown in May 2017, according to promoter Eddie Hearn, and immediately engaged in an online spat that continued to demonstrate the bitterness between the two welterweight boxers.

Khan and Brook saw talks over a domestic bout fall flat earlier in 2016, which led to the former negotiating a fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and the latter taking on pound-for-pound No 1 Gennady Golovkin.

Both came out on the wrong side of emphatic defeats, with Canelo knocking Khan out and Brook’s corner throwing in the towel as he faced a barrage of punches from Golovkin, and the losses point towards to an all-British affair between the two rivals after they saw their hopes of rivalling the best in the business ended.

Speaking to the BBC, Hearn, who promotes all of Brook’s fights, said: "There's a good chance of it [the bout] happening. Amir wants it to happen, so does Kell. We want to put a fight on for the fans."

Hearn’s announcement came after a Twitter back-and-forth between the two boxers sparked widespread suggestions that the two were lined up for a fight in the coming year, and after suffering the devastating defeats in 2016, it could provide the perfect stepping stone back to the top of the game in 2017.

Khan posted a picture of himself alongside WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight champion Golovkin, adding the caption: “The 1st man to smash kell brooks face @GGGBoxing, standing with him is the next guy to smash Kelly brooks face! #ReadyWhenYouAre.”

Brook hit back on Wednesday, posting on Twitter: “Glad you've woken up from your last KO, I believe our teams are talking I look forward to sending you back to sleep #QueenKardashion.”

Brook, who remains the current IBF welterweight world champion given the belt was not on the line against Golovkin, followed up by retweeting a video of Khan being knocked out by Alvarez in May this year.

Both Khan and Brook have confirmed that they will not fight at middleweight again after being exposed by the extra strength of Alvarez and Golovkin respectively, and with Brook’s welterweight title in the picture, the bout would be expected to take place at the 147-pound limit. Hearn added that given the interest from the north of England – with Khan hailing from Bolton and Brook the pride of Sheffield – he will seek any fight between them to take place "up north in Manchester Arena or Old Trafford".

Brook remains the IBF welterweight world champion despite losing to Golovkin (Getty)

"Kell has proved himself. He beat Shawn Porter and had a good fight with Golovkin. The time is right," added Hearn.