Amir Khan makes Eddie Hearn plea with six-word message ahead of historic Africa showcase

British boxing legend Amir Khan is hoping Eddie Hearn and fellow boxing promoters can 'put egos aside' and team together to stage historic events in Africa.

The former light-welterweight champion hung up the gloves three years ago following a brutal knockout defeat to Kell Brook in Manchester. 'King' has since ventured into full-time promoting, having gained a fair bit of experience during his fighting days.

Khan - an ex-Olympic medalist - jokes that being a promoter is a lot harder than being a boxer.

However, he affirms that he has taken to it like a duck to water, despite a few hiccups along the road. But after a successful debut card in Ghana earlier this year, Khan wanted more and teamed up with African-based Balmoral Group Promotions to host a Chaos in the Ring event on Nigerian Independence Day back in October.

The 39-year-old has well and truly put African boxing on the map, and following the two aforementioned showcases, Khan has joined forces with Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions and will host an epic night of boxing on Sunday night, headlined by a heavyweight clash between Lawrence Okolie and Ebenezer Tetteh.

The high-stakes dust-up is set to go down at the 10,000-capacity Onikan Stadium in Lagos.

This weekend's action will be looking to steal a bit of thunder from the money-spinning Jake Paul versus Anthony Joshua heavyweight rumble in Miami on Friday night. Merely 24 hours before Okolie and Tetteh meet in the middle of the ring, Matchroom will host their first ever event on African soil - with Craig Richards taking on Dan Azeez.

Regardless of how these two cards play out, African boxing is on the rise - a market that has largely been spearheaded by Khan, who hopes to continue to bring top class boxing to the continent.

"Not a lot of promoters wanted to go there. They were afraid to put on shows there. But we took that opportunity and took that chance.

"We knew it was going to be hard and a bit of a task. And, also, it was going to be a bit of a… at times there were going to be problems. Especially when you are in a new region and a new country. You do not know how the commission is going to react," Khan told Mirror Fighting. He added: "But look, it’s always hard, and that’s why I believe there’s not many promoters that have been to Africa or other countries because it is a little bit different to do than any shows in the Western world."

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Given the meteoric rise of Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi boxing chief has brought rival promoters together to stage historic events worldwide. Khan - who admits he has not heard from Hearn regarding a potential collaboration - is willing to pick up the phone and talk business to anyone.

"Definitely! But the thing is in this game, there is a lot of egos.

Look, I am happy to work with anyone and everyone. I want to say a big thank you to Queensberry for trusting us and being a part of the promotion with me, saying ‘Amir, you are doing well over there. We want to partner with you and let’s do some work together.’ I have not heard anything from Eddie Hearn. But the thing is, I hope we put the egos aside and we give the fans the fights that they want to see.

"Sometimes, in this game, there’s a lot of egos. And a lot of people that want to show that they are the big d***, but we are not about that.

We want to put on great shows and great fights for everyone. I want to work with every promoter out there." He added: "Now, Africa was a region that no one looked at. It’s nice that we have gone there and we have put it on the map. And that is what it’s all about… giving back to the sport of boxing and that is what I want to do because I know that there is so much talent in Africa and I think that may get a lot of fighters out of poverty to world champions one day."