On Wednesday afternoon, Amir Khan made an announcement that nobody would have predicted at the beginning of the week.

The 31-year-old held a joint press conference alongside Eddie Hearn in which it was announced that he’d signed a three-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing.

Khan and Hearn have never seen eye-to-eye before but they’ve put aside their differences for business purposes, much to the surprise of boxing fans.

Khan hasn’t fought since losing to Canelo Alvarez in May 2016 but will make his long-awaited return to action at Liverpool’s Echo Arena on April 21.

"I don't think anyone would have thought me and Eddie would be sat at the same table -- maybe up against each other, but never on the same team,” Khan told reporters. "We've decided to put everything that happened and put it behind us and move forward. Eddie, in my view, is the best promoter in the UK. I want to start fighting in the UK a lot more now, and it is all about being with the best team.”

It’s no coincidence that Hearn has added Khan to his stable just a month after the Bolton-born fighter’s participation on ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’

Hearn makes excellent point about Khan after signing him

And Hearn, speaking to iFL TV, made a brilliant point that Khan’s decision to feature on the hit reality show has created a huge new audience of ‘casuals’ who will tune in to his three fights this year.

“When I heard it, I thought this is either going to be an absolute disaster or a genius move - and as it turned out, it was a genius move,” Hearn said about Khan’s decision to go on ‘I’m a Celeb’.

“He just went in there and he was just himself and now, although hardcore fans won’t like it, you have a massive casual audience for Amir Khan,” he added.

“I know the hardcores don’t like the casuals. I do. You know why? Because there’s f***ing loads of them.”

Khan set to generate big money for Hearn

The more fans a fighter has - regardless of whether they’re ‘hardcore’ or ‘casual’ - the more viewing figures they’ll attract and the more money they’ll generate.

Hearn might be many things but first and foremost, he’s an excellent businessman, and he knows that Khan will earn Matchroom an awful lot of money this year.

Video: Hearn on Khan attracting more 'casual' fans

Watch Hearn give his thoughts on Khan by skipping to 0:30 in the video…