Amir Khan has hit back at accusations that he ducked British arch-rival Kell Brook by claiming that promoter Eddie Hearn reneged on a £10 million offer to fight at Wembley Stadium in June.

Khan has moved to ‘set the record straight’ on the Brook controversy after signing for a more dangerous mega-fight against heavier Mexican super-star Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas on May 7.

Following the shock announcement that he is leaping up the divisions to challenge for the world middleweight title, Bollton’s Khan has this to say about Hearn: ‘Eddie and I were sitting at ringside at a show in Liverpool when he said he would give me £10m to fight Brook this summer.

Amir Khan was negotiating for a fight with Kell Brook but talks broke down last week

Brook was prepared to put his world title on the line against Khan at Wembley on June 4

‘I said yes, even though I knew that with 90,000 fans at Wembley the fight was worth much than that. But when we went into full negotiations he went back on that promise and came up with a lower figure. Much lower. Nowhere near that number.

‘I walked away and he tried to make me look bad by saying I had demanded an 80-20 split of the purse. That was not right. I wish Kell all the best and out of respect for him as a world champion I would never have asked for a deal like that.

‘But as soon as Eddie said that people turned on me. They said I was scared of Brook.

‘They’re not saying that now I’m fighting Canelo, who no-one else in the world wants to take on.

‘If the ten million offer had been real I could have fought for the money at Wembley and it would have been a fairly easy fight for me.

‘Instead I’m going for the chance to make history against Canelo, to prove to everyone that Amir Khan is a great fighter. That means a lot more to me.’

Hearn responded: ‘Our talks were always based on a minimum of $10m for Amir. In all the negotiations, up to last weekend, which included his adviser Al Haymon, the deal was for a 60/40 split in Amir’s favour which would have brought him between $10m and $15m.’

Khan will now take on Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez on May 7 for the Mexican’s world middleweight title 

There are fears that Khan, who moved up to welterweight in only his last two fights, is risking too much by taking on the world middleweight champion.

But our British silver medallist at the Athens Olympics – as a teenager – says: ‘People are recognising that it takes big balls to do this but that’s not how it will be remembered. This reminds me of the Olympics, which I went to as a boy, beat the men and only lost in the final to the best amateur in the world at the time.

‘For me it’s all about the glory. Wembley would have been big but to fight a Mexican national hero on the weekend when thousands of his countrymen will be in Vegas celebrating their national holiday, live on network television in America and before they eyes of the world is really huge.’

Khan will be helped to bridge the weight gap by Alvarez’s insistence on defending his title at a catch-weight 155 lbs. Nevertheless the champion will be the bigger man in the ring and Khan says: ‘We’ve already been working towards this fight for a couple of months. We’re training to build up strength and power but not with so much extra muscle bulk that it would slow me down.

‘My asset is my speed. It will win the fight for me as long as I stick to my game plan, stay absolutely focused. If I make a mistake against Canelo I could be in big trouble. But I know that and truly believe that I will give him a boxing lesson and beat him on points.

Alvarez won his title by beating Miguel Cotto last November and will defend it against Khan

Alvarez will be the bigger man in the ring but Khan is confident his speed will win him the fight

‘I could even knock him out if the chance comes because I feel stronger not having to drain down in weight. I’m punching harder in sparring and knocking down middleweights in the gym.’

Oscar De La Hoya, legendary head of Golden Boy Promotions who are hoping to stage this event in the new 20,000 arena under construction on the Las Vegas Strip, says: ‘This is like when I happily agreed to fight a little guy called Manny Pacquiao and he beat me to make his name. As did a little guy called Floyd Mayweather.

‘This is speed v power and it is Amir’s chance to establish himself as one of the greats. This is taking boxing back to its roots. Both him and Canelo want to take on the best opponents in the world and they will be doing that on May 7.’

Canelo’s only defeat in more than 40 professional fights was inflicted by Mayweather, who was in London at the moment as part of his celebrity world tour. He will go on to speak in Bolton where he can expect to be grilled about leaving Khan at the altar of a big fight three times.

More recently Pacquiao switched to another opponent for his retirement fight, coming to Vegas this April, but Khan says now: ‘After those two, Canelo was always the next great fighter out there. Now that we’re going up to middleweight, this is an even bigger challenge for me.’