By Jack Tarpey : So as we all know by now Kell “Special K” Brook, Sheffield’s switch hitter appears to have finally secured his shot at world level, his promoter Hearn has in principal agreed a bout with none other than Devon “The Great” Alexander who is the current IBF welterweight world champion, the bout is scheduled for the 19th of January 13 set to take place in the States.

A win against Devon will certainly propel Kell into the mix of the world elite at welterweight, but in the same time this could throw a huge spanner in the works. If Kell loses to Devon he will also certainly miss out on his much anticipated showdown with Amir Khan, well for the near future at least.

Khan has come out to say that if Kell gets past Devon he will indeed get his wish at facing Khan in what would undoubtedly be a huge draw in British boxing.

Devon is world class and is certainly Kell’s toughest test so far, the only problem with Devon is he doesn’t always mentally show up. On some nights he looks marvelous with his pin point accuracy and snapping power shots and then on others he looks unprepared and lacking that killer instinct which is needed at the top.

Kell has been brought along relatively slowly in the professional ranks and he didn’t exactly look like a world ruler when facing Carson Jones, however he did impress in his last outing against the usually tough Argentine Hector Saldivia finishing him off in the 3rd.

Kell’s main asset seems to be his punch accuracy and slick footwork and it will certainly be interesting to see if he can use these attributes to slow down the lighting fast Alexander to become the IBF world champion. As that is the carrot he needs to lure Khan into a mega fight, as Khan still believes Kell hasn’t earned the right to be in the same ring as him.

Personally I see this as a close 12 round fight, but with Alexander prevailing. Alexander if he shows up to the best of his ability has in my opinion too much speed and ring smarts for Kell at this stage of his career. Devon already has vast experience of fighting in the ‘big fights’ and should come through this but not without a few scares along the way.

If my prediction is proven to be correct then that means we will have to wait a little longer than expected to see Brook vs Khan. However an old Chinese proverb springs to mind called “Sai Weng and his lost horse” which explains how bad news can quickly turn into good news. A loss to Alexander as mentioned would shut the door on a Khan fight, however it could open a much bigger door for a potential mammoth fight with Manchester’s favourite son Ricky “Hitman” Hatton. As Hatton has expressed interest in fighting one if not both of Britain’s light/welterweights (Khan & Brook.) Hatton is coming back from a lengthy break from the sport and he will certainly look to challenging what appears to be the weaker out of the two first, this is all depending on Hatton getting past Senchenko, first of course.

Look forward to your thoughts boxing heads.