On 9 December 2018, it was reported that Top Rank had offered Khan a guaranteed $5 million purse, plus a percentage of PPV revenue, to fight Terence Crawford on 23 March 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The fight was made official in January 2019, and it was set to take place at Madison Square Garden on 20 April. The fight would be broadcast live on ESPN PPV; UK broadcasting rights were later acquired by BT Sport Box Office. Khan, commenting on facing Crawford rather than long-time domestic rival Brook, believed winning a world title against a consensus pound-for-pound boxer would be a bigger achievement than defeating Brook. He also believed that win or lose against Crawford, the Brook opportunity would still be available. Khan returned to veteran trainer Virgil Hunter for the Crawford bout. Hunter was unable to train Khan for his previous two bouts due to ill health.