By William Mackay: 2010 was a light year for #1 ranked WBO welterweight contender Kell Brook (23-0, 16 KO’s). The opposition he faced during the year wasn’t all that impressive, as he was put in with Krzysztof Bienias, Michael Jennings and Philip Kotey in this order.

That’s not what I would consider quality opposition for someone ranked as high as Brook. He needs to be matched tougher, preferably against guys like Mike Jones, Jesus Soto-Karass, Alfonso Gomez, and Selcuk Aydin.

Even someone like Matthew Hatton would be preferable to the kinds of guys that Brook has been facing recently. Brook says he wants to fight WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan and former 8 division world champion Manny Pacquiao, and yet how can these guys take Brook seriously as a potential opponent when he’s not being matched against fighters that anyone can recognize.

I’ve heard of Jennings, but I’ve never thought much of him, especially after watching Miguel Cotto demo him in February 2009. Jennings is someone that Brook should have been facing earlier in his career around 2006, not in 2010. I see Jennings and guys like Bienia and Kotey as being 2nd and 3rd tier fodder, the kinds of fighters you face in the first couple of years of your career not when you’re as advanced as Brook.

If nothing else, Brook needs to be put in with better fighters so that he can make a case for himself that he belongs in the ring with Khan or Pacquiao. You can’t complain that you’re being ducked by those guys if all you’re fighting is people like Jennings and Kotey.