Hatton expects Kell Brook to get big fights in 2015

By Boxing News - 03/20/2015 - Comments

brook55666By Scott Gilfoid: Ricky Hatton sees big things for IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs) in 2015 with him getting the big fights that he’s been talking about for ages now. Hatton believes that the 28-year-old Brook will be able to get important fights this year.

Hatton doesn’t say who he sees as the big fights, but it’s likely Amir Khan, Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao. I’m not really sure that Brook will get any of those fights this year. Khan is a possibility simply because he has so few options.

Brook’s probably not going to get fights against Mayweather, Miguel Cotto or Pacquiao, so that leaves Brook as his only option for a big money fight.

“I think Kell will shine and then move on to those big fights he’s chasing for later in the year,” Hatton said via Fightnews.com.

I don’t see it happening for Brook. If Mayweather whips Pacquiao, he’s not going to want to take a fight against Khan, because it’ll wind up as such a huge pay cut for Mayweather. Brook is a total unknown, and he’ll still be an unknown in the United States event though his title defense against Jo Jo Dan (34-2, 18 KOs) will be televised on Showtime Championship Boxing on March 28th.

It takes a long time for a fighter to pick up a fan base in the U.S, and you can’t do it on the cheap by taking on over-matched guys that were previously beaten twice by Selcuk Aydin like Jo Jo Dan was in the past.

Brook could fight guys like Jo Jo Dan for the next 10 years in the U.S, and I don’t think he would be any better off than he is now. Brook needs to start fighting quality guys if he wants to become well-known enough in the U.S to get the big fights against Mayweather, Pacquiao or Cotto.

Brook also needs change his fighting style if he wants to pick up fans in the U.S, because the way he fought last August against Shawn Porter was just plain awful. Brook clinched like mad against Porter in that fight, and it was painful to watch. It reminded me of watching a college basketball game where one team was stalling out the clock by passing the ball over and over again to get the victory.

Brook is going to need to figure out how to beat the quality fighters in the welterweight division without holding 24/7. Yes, Brook can continue to hold constantly to nullify his opponent’s offense, but I guarantee you that he’s not going to win fans by fighting like that. I also don’t see him ever getting the big fights that Hatton is talking about due to his fighting style being too defensive, and not crowd pleasing.

You can make an argument that Showtime is wasting their time televising Brook’s fight against Dan, because it’s not a compelling fight and the victory won’t prove anything for Brook. I can see it being worthwhile for Showtime to televise Brook’s fights if he were facing Porter in a rematch, Lucas Matthysse, Danny Garcia, Marcos Maidana or Keith Thurman. Those would be competitive fights. But televising Brook’s fight against Jo Jo Dan isn’t good television in my view, and I don’t see it leading to a big fight for Brook against Mayweather, Pacquiao or Cotto.



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