By Gavin Duthie: One more chance is all I would give Eddie Hearn to deliver a tile shot for Kell Brook 32-0(22). He has been the mandatory IBF challenger for what seems like an eternity yet has never managed a crack at the belt.
During this time Brook has seen three separate dates for fights with then champion Devon Alexander 25-2(14) fall through, twice due to mysterious injuries to Brook and one for Alexander. Then he had to watch British level fighter Lee Purdy 20-5-1(13) bravely but poorly attempt to dethrone Alexander. After this he witnessed the title change hands from Alexander to Shawn Porter 24-0-1(15) followed by a snub for a shot in favour of Paulie Malignaggi. Trolling through the news sights and forums there is more talk of Porter next fighting Amir Khan or Keith Thurman, enough is enough.
If Eddie Hearn announces Kell Brook’s next fight as anyone else other than Shawn Porter then he should leave Matchroom promotions. Most Brits like myself think Kell Brook is the real deal but even after 32 bouts we still have little proof with his best wins a 3rd round stoppage win over Senchenko and a points victory over Lovemore N’Dou. Rightly or wrongly those across the pond will not rate Kell Brook because of his lack of quality opposition. Despite less fights for the likes of Americas Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman they are now seen as well ahead of Brook because they have stepped up in class.
If its Kell who feels he is not ready then he should just pack it in. He has fought 32 times and won them all, if he’s not ready now he never will be. When he beat Alvaro Robles back in March he seemed genuinely annoyed that he was still fighting at that level and said he wanted Porter or Malignaggi.
However, Amir Khan (a constant Brook protagonist) doubts That he really fancies it.
The 27-year-old told BBC Sport: “Brook against Porter is not going to happen because Kell doesn’t think that he can win it.
“I don’t think Kell has got the bottle to take a big fight like that, he’s always been all talk when it comes to the big fights. Some fighters are like that.”
As usual in the post fight interview with Vyacheslav Senchenko, Hearn confused me when he name dropped Amir Khan and Adrien Broner. He is the mandatory challenger for the IBF and should be focusing on nothing else. Its time for Brook to sink or swim, he needs to force a fight with Porter next, only then will we see how good he really is.
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