By William Mackay”: Unbeaten welterweight contender Kell Brook (28-0, 18 KO’s) will be trying to put himself into position to where he’ll get a title shot against the winner of the October 20th fight between IBF welterweight champion Randall Bailey and Devon Alexander when Brook fights Hector Saldivia (41-2, 32 KO’s) on October 20th next month at the Motorpoint Arnea, Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK.
Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn feels that it’s important for Brook to beat Saldivia in order to get guaranteed title shot against the Bailey-Alexander winner, and also to get a better payday in the process. By becoming the International Boxing Federation mandatory challenger, Brook will get a good payday out of the fight for the IBF title, if nothing else. Brook would have a decent chance of beating Bailey as long as he doesn’t get hit with anything big, but Alexander is definitely a level above Brook and Hearn should try avoid that fight for Brook if he’s smart.
Salivia has one of the most inflated resumes that you’ll ever see. It’s sad to say that Salivia has 41 victories and 28 knockouts, yet he’s never beaten anyone that you can call remotely a good fighter. His record is even more inflated than former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. He’s only an eight year pro, but that record is completely built up on fluff.
Brook will still have to be careful with Saldivia because he can punch a little when he’s sitting down on his shots. I’d rate Saldivia as just as good a puncher as Brook’s last opponent Carson Jones, who Brook went life and death with last July in winning a 12 round majority decision. The fight really should have been scored a draw if anything because Brook won the first six rounds, and then completely fell apart in the last six rounds and was badly staggered in the 12th round when he came close to being knocked out by Jones.
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