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Khan hits back at Hearn over McCloskey offer

Amir Khan's reputation is growing rapidly © Getty Images

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Amir Khan has warned Paul McCloskey not to miss out on his chance for a lucrative battle for the WBA light-welterweight title on April 16.

Khan's camp have reportedly offered McCloskey three times the sum of money he earned in his last fight, yet the 31-year-old's promoter Barry Hearn flatly rejected the deal.

"The offer was a joke," Hearn told the Belfast Telegraph. "There's no way I'm letting Paul fight for peanuts.

"They made the offer, I rejected it and as far as I can see the fight is dead. We'll certainly not be going back to them to negotiate. If they were to come back with a proper offer then of course we would listen but as I expected they wanted to get Paul on the cheap."

Khan was informed of Hearn's comments on Sunday evening, and the Bolton-born pugilist warned that he can easily turn his attentions to the likes of Lamont Peterson if McCloskey is not willing to step into the ring.

"The offer I made to Paul McCloskey is the biggest he is getting in any of his fights. If he doesn't want to take the offer, there are plenty of other fighters who will," Khan told Sky Sports News. "Everyone knows I want to fight McCloskey, and everyone knows I would beat him. I'm willing to give him the biggest purse of his boxing career so why not take the fight?

"I'm going to fight my next fight in Manchester, April 16, I've had two fights in America and now it is time to come home. I'm looking at two fights, one is Paul McCloskey and one is Lamont Peterson. Both are top-10 fighters and I'm willing to put my title on the line to fight them."

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