‘Brittle media whore’ Amir Khan vs ‘scared’ Kell Brook – a timeline of their bitter feud and how it all began

For so long, it looked like the rivalry that would never be settled. Amir Khan and Kell Brook both reached boxing’s summit while sharing bitter resentment for one another, fuelled by old sparring stories, failed negotiations and personal insults. All without sharing the ring.

That will change on Saturday. While no longer at the peak of their powers, that loathing is stronger than ever. This weekend, it all comes to a head as the two greats of British boxing meet to end a row that has rumbled on for over 15 years.

In an attempt to chart the origins of the feud, the best of the trash talk and the many false dawns that accompanied it all, Metro.co.uk looks back to where it all started and how we got to where we (thankfully) are today.

Selected ahead of Brook for the 2004 Olympics team in Athens, Khan enjoyed almost overnight success after returning with a silver medal at the age of 17. Brook meanwhile did not see the same doors open for him and scrapped his way into the limelight.

Before their early steps in professional boxing, the two shared now infamous sparring battles in those England Boxing camps prior to the 2004 Olympics, with Brook believing his style at the time didn’t appeal to those in charge of picking the talent who would eventually go onto Athens.

Just what went on in those camps has been hotly disputed over the years and came to light when the pair were reunited in an infamous 2012 episode of Ringside, Sky Sports’ now defunct boxing show.

‘We had great sparring sessions – you know what happened Kell,’ Khan said with a wry smile.

‘I used to box Kell all around the ring. I was training for the Olympic Games at the time and Kell was a junior and I used to school Kell in the ring.’

Khan would later claim Brook was