Kell Brook, Amir Khan and the Intriguing Situation in the Welterweight Division

Whether they like it or not, Kell Brook and Amir Khan are stuck in a relationship. If they were to update their status on Facebook, it would read: It's complicated.

It didn't always have to be this way. Britain's top two welterweights have verbally sparred with each other for several years but have sadly yet to settle their dispute in a ring.

A money-spinning fight has long been talked about without ever appearing close to becoming a reality. At first, Brook was the one doing all the chasing. Khan felt superior at the time, but his status has slipped.

Right now, the time feels right to do the deal; both boxers are coming off unsuccessful attempts to win world titles up at middleweight. Both are also recovering from surgery, delaying any bout until 2017.

The window of opportunity is open—but it won't remain that way forever.

The problem is about pride, posturing and positions. Neither man wants to be seen as giving ground to the other. They also don't want to risk losing their standing with different governing bodies, either.

Despite failing in his audacious bid to topple Gennady Golovkin in September, Brook still retained his firm grip on the IBF welterweight title. His performance—not to mention his comfort in making the middleweight limit of 160 pounds—suggested his future could involve stepping up to a new division.

The Special One suffered a broken eye socket against GGG, an injury that not only led to him being pulled out on the night by his trainer, Dominic Ingle, but also required surgery to repair.

He is now beginning to return to work in the gym, albeit a comeback is still some way off.

However, it seems his return won't be at super welterweight.

In a statement released through his promoters, Matchroom Boxing, Brook confirmed he has no plans to just relinquish his grip on the world title he worked so hard to gain. That means either unification fights at welterweight or, if those cannot be made soon, a meeting with mandatory challenger Errol Spence Jr.

"Kell can make 147 [pounds]—it just means he has to be in training camp longer," Ingle told Bleacher Report.

"For Golovkin, he had nine weeks to prepare, but realistically he was already training for five or six weeks before that for a potential date in September. In those nine weeks, though, he got into fantastic shape. When you’re motivated, when you know there’s a lot on the line, you can do it quickly.

"Looking back at the whole process, it was a unique opportunity to box Golovkin. His [Brook's] 12 years as a pro fighter paid off with that fight.

"When you become world champion you think big-money fights are coming, but that didn’t initially happen for Kell. Facing Golovkin was not only the biggest fight out there for him, it was also a chance to test himself.

"He needs further challenges now. I don’t think he wants to drop back down, he wants to be in against decent fighters. When you’ve been at it all this time, there’s got to be something more.

"Ideally, it would be great to get a fight like Canelo or [Miguel] Cotto, but if no one is forthcoming in showing interest, then the easiest fight to make will be his mandatory defence."

Whether Spence Jr.—an unbeaten American tied to Al Haymon and Premier Boxing Champions—wants to travel to England for his shot at glory remains to be seen. That fight could happen in the United States, too. In the end, money will decide the exact location.

Brook would rather have the opportunity to earn even more by taking on newly crowned WBO champion Manny Pacquiao. That dream, however, seems unlikely to become a reality.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told Dan Rafael of ESPN.com that he feels a rematch between Pac-Man and Floyd Mayweather Jr.—who was at ringside to watch Pacquiao defeat Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas on Saturday—is "75 per cent" likely to happen.

"Floyd came to the fight and he was very friendly with [Top Rank president] Todd [duBoef] and some of our staff," Arum told Rafael. "Now, that doesn't mean that the fight will happen, but if it does, it won't take a long time to make because the animosity that was there before the first fight is gone. There's no more animosity between the camps."

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Khan would welcome the chance to face former gym-mate Pacquiao, too—and he has pushed for the opportunity in the past.

Yet the Bolton boxer is also nestled in behind champion Danny Garcia in the WBC's welterweight rankings. Once fully recovered from surgery on his right hand, he can cash in his chip as mandatory challenger, although it is not yet known who will be holding the belt by then.

By agreeing a deal to face WBA holder Keith Thurman next March, Garcia kept Khan waiting, regardless of his injury status. In a game of boxing poker, a unification contest trumps a mandatory defence.

Now the fighter stood at the front of the queue has to wait a little longer to find out who he is next in line to face. Thurman is a good name with a good reputation in the United States, but he doesn't hold the same appeal as Garcia, a boxer Khan has history with.

It is easy to forget, back in 2012 when the pair met in a unification fight at super lightweight, Khan was dominant for nearly nine minutes before a counter left hook just before the bell in Round 3 changed everything.

Similarly, the former world champion saw a positive start against Canelo ruined by one punch.

While knockouts happen in boxing (duh), Khan has suffered three harrowing losses in a pro career that looks in serious danger of failing to meet the lofty expectations planted on his shoulders after dazzling everyone as a teenager at the 2004 Olympics.

Now he's an experienced pro in danger of becoming damaged goods. Sure, he possesses fast hands and looks flashy when on the front foot, but his punch resistance is an Achilles heel that is hard to fix.

In choosing to fight with bravado, rather than use his boxing brain, he's needlessly exposed a weakness others will always fancy exploiting.

It feels like win or bust for Khan the next time he steps in between the ropes. Even though he only turns 30 in December, his career is now balanced precariously on a precipice.

Losing to Canelo, having jumped up to a catchweight of 155 pounds, is excusable. It was a huge gamble that failed to pay off—and it's hard to criticise him for trying to land the jackpot.

However, if Brook were to beat Khan, where could the latter go?

"It’s different when you’re losing to big-name fighters in the United States," Ingle said.

"He [Khan] is never going to live it down if Kell beats him. It's in his own country. Plus, at the minute, he can convince himself he is the No. 1 welterweight in Britain."

Brook wants the chance to locate that soft spot in Khan's defences.

While referring to his rival as "Amir Khandashian," he told Sky Sports News HQ (h/t Nick Lustig of SkySports.com): "People are talking about us fighting, he's said he wants to have that fight and like I have said, I'll meet him at welterweight if he actually wants to get in and stop talking about it. We need to sit down, get it signed and get it done for the fans."

Yet a deal doesn't look like happening for a good while yet. The battle to gain the upper hand in the media will rage on, yet you have to wonder if the actual bout will ever happen.

All the talk will eventually become tiresome. Both camps should just look at Mayweather-Pacquiao I, and how the never-ending saga rather ruined the eventual event. If boxers care about their legacies, they need to understand the importance of striking while the iron is hot.

If Brook continues to reign in the IBF, and if Khan seizes his chance to fight for the WBC belt when it eventually comes around, a unification scrap would surely be too big to brush under the carpet.

That may be too many ifs, though.

There is the possibility that Brook-Khan never happens now, and that's a gloomy prediction towards the end of a boxing year that has already contained too many disappointments.

Rob Lancaster is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.