By Sean McDaniel: Ranked #1 by the WBC, unbeaten welterweight contender Kell Brook (23-0, 16 KO’s) is still trying to make a name for himself and get big fights in the welterweight division. Unfortunately, his chances of getting a title shot against WBO champ Manny Pacquiao are nonexistent and will likely remain that way for good. None the less, the 24-year-old Brook is now targeting contender Matthew Hatton (41-5-2, 16 KO’s), who he hopes will accept his challenge for a fight.

Hatton, 29, is coming off of a one-sided 12 round decision beat down at the hands of junior middleweight Saul Alvarez last March and might not be too keen to get back in the ring with someone as good as Brook.

Brook said this in an article at thesun.co.uk: “Matthew and I getting it on in Sheffield would be great. His fans could come over from Manchester and with Ricky [Hatton] involved to it would be a huge occasion. Matthew gave a good account of himself against Saul Alvarez and he’s a big name out there now. With me being the hot prospect, that’s a great mix for a big fight.”

HBO and Golden Boy Promotions are reportedly interesting in having Hatton fight again on HBO in the near future. However, it would seem incredibly doubtful that Brook would be in the picture for that fight because they would be looking at a name fighter that U.S fans are familiar with. Brook is an unknown here, so he’s likely out of the picture. I can see someone like Paulie Malignaggi being a fighter that HBO and Golden Boy would like to see Hatton in with. It would be a toss-up fight because both fighters are badly flawed and weak punchers to boot. Brook may need to do what Amir Khan did by moving his base to the U.S if he wants to get fights against guys like Hatton or some of the bigger names.

Brook needs to go after more realistic targets like Mike Jones, the number #2 WBO contender.