Hearn to name Brook’s next opponent in 2 weeks

By Boxing News - 01/18/2017 - Comments

Image: Hearn to name Brook’s next opponent in 2 weeks

By Scott Gilfoid: The fans are going to find out in the next couple of weeks who Kell Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) will be fighting next. Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants him to fight Amir Khan next on May 20 or 27, but it doesn’t look like that fight is going to happen next.

Hearn says that Brook should move up to 154, because he’s having too many problems making weight for the welterweight division. You can argue that the problems that Brook has is Errol Spence Jr. problems rather than weight problems. Brook has to move to 154, to avoid fighting Spence.

You can argue that is the only way that Brook can avoid the fight, and the backlash that will come from boxing fans if he were to avoid the talented U.S 2012 Olympian.

Staying at 147 means that Brook must fight Spence next if he wants to keep his IBF title. There’s no refuge for Brook at 154, but it’s understandable why Hearn wants him to move up there right now. It’s pretty much a safe haven for Brook if he goes to junior middleweight. He can avoid the Spence fight, and then pick off welterweight fights here and there for big paydays without having to fight Spence.

By saying he’s moved up to 154, Brook wouldn’t have to fight the dangerous guys in that weight class like Jermall Charlo, Julian Williams, Demetrius Andrade or Erislandy Lara. Brook could just be a 154lb fighter in name only while focusing more on getting fights against the top welterweights like Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan, Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman.

Khan wants a tune-up fight in April to test out his surgically repaired right hand. He doesn’t want to go straight into a match against Brook without testing his hand to see if it will hold up. Hearn badly wants Khan to agree to fight Brook next. That would make things much easier for him obviously.

Brook would then vacate his IBF welterweight title without receiving a huge mountain of criticism from boxing fans for him avoiding his #1 mandatory challenger Errol Spence Jr., who is seen as someone that would beat him in the eyes of many boxing fans. Brook won’t receive too much criticism from the fans for not fighting Spence if he can get the Khan fight. But if he can’t get a fight against Khan or one of the other big names, then Brook is going to look very, very bad if he tosses his IBF title in order not to fight Spence. Either way, Brook is still going to look like he’s ducking the Spence fight.

“We’ve got to decide whether to stay at 147lbs or move up to 154lbs. I want Kell to move up to light-middleweight, he shouldn’t be at welterweight,” said Hearn to skysports.com. “But Amir knows his best chance is at welterweight. There are rumors that Amir wants to take a warm-up fight first, which would be disappointing.”

Why is Hearn saying that Khan talking about wanting a tune-up in his next fight is a rumor? That’s not a rumor. Khan is saying that over and over again in each interview he takes. There’s no rumor involved. Khan wants to take a tune-up fight next. I wonder why Hearn is saying it’s a rumor that Khan wants to take a tune-up fight. Is Hearn hoping that by saying that he can get Khan to change his mind and not take the tune-up fight?

I sense a lot of desperation from Hearn to try and get Khan to take the fight with Brook. Let’s face it, Brook has his back against the wall with the Spence fight having been ordered by the International Boxing Federation. The IBF has given Brook until late February to make a decision whether to fight Spence or not, and it looks like Brook is going to take it down to the wire before making that decision unless he can get Khan to agree to fight him in May.

If Khan agrees to fight Brook next, then he’ll have to give up his IBF title. The Brook-Spence fight has already been ordered by the IBF, and Brook can’t keep his title unless he can get Spence to agree to accept a step aside fee. I don’t think for a second that Spence is going to do that. He can make more money as the IBF champion than he can taking a small step aside fee to get stuck waiting another year or so before he finally gets a chance at the IBF belt.

Brook says he wants to keep his IBF title. He obviously doesn’t want to be seen as ducking his first quality challenger to his belt in Spence, but if he takes that fight, he’ll likely be beaten and maybe badly.

Gilfoid can’t wait to see what Brook does next. He can pretty much forget about the Khan fight happening in May. That’s a given. Brook has to make a decision whether he wants to fight Spence or vacate his IBF title to avoid him and do what his promoter Hearn wants him to do in moving up to 154. That’s just a foxhole for Brook to hide out at in my opinion.

Like I said, I DO NOT see Brook facing any of the talented junior middleweights in the division. If Brook thought he had problems against Gennady Golovkin, just wait and see the kind of problems he’d have against the likes of Charlo, Demetrius Andrade, Julian “J-Rock” Williams and Erislandy Lara. Those are all guys that can do the same thing to Brook that Golovkin did, but do it in style without getting their feet wet. I think Brook is only going to 154 to use it as a perch or foxhole to avoid guys like Spence while he picks and gets fights against top 147lb fighters. I don’t think for a second that Brook is going to try and really campaign at 154. Are you kidding? That division is filled with talented guys that are just as big as Golovkin. All those fighters rehydrate into the 170s like Golovkin. I don’t even think Brook could beat some of the fringe contenders at 154 like Austin Trout, Jarrett Hurd, Tony Harrison, and Erickson Lubin. Those guys would all be very, very tough outs for Brook. But I don’t think for a second that Hearn will ever match Brook against any of those guys.

I think Brook is in the final stages of his career where he’s cashing out with the biggest fights he can before retiring. I do not see him STARTING over at 154. No way is that happening. I think he’s just cashing out getting ready for retirement. I think the same with cruiserweight Tony Bellew with him moving up to heavyweight to fight David Haye. I see Bellew staying at heavyweight, taking on fodder opposition until Hearn puts him in with IBF champion Anthony Joshua in 2018.

I do not see Bellew going back down to cruiserweight to face his mandatory challenger, which will be the winner of the Marco Huck vs. Mairis Briedis fight on April 1. I think Bellew is cashing out and getting ready for retirement. I would be impressed if Brook actually tried to do something at 154 by taking one the top talents in that division. It would show courage, and show that he just move up to that weight class to get out from having to fight Spence. But, I don’t believe for a second what Hearn is saying that Brook can’t make 147 anymore and that he needs to move up to 154 to fight in a division that is better suited for his body size. I don’t see it that way. This is all about avoidance of Spence in my opinion.