By Scott Gilfoid: The International Boxing Federation (IBF) has reportedly ordered a fight between IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (24-0-1, 15 KO’s) and #1 IBF Kell Brook (32-0, 22 KO’s), according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. Porter just finishing obliterating Paulie Malignaggi (33-6, 7 KO’s) in 4 rounds last Saturday night at the DC Armory in Washington, DC, and already he’s being ordered to face the untested Brook.
Porter has no problem taking the fight with Brook, because he feels like he matches up well against him and most of the other fighters in the welterweight division right now. Brook doesn’t have an inside game, and this fight could end rather quickly unless Brook takes a crash course in learning how to fight in close.
The negotiations must be completed by May 21st, says Rafael. Neither fighter can get a fight in between their mandatory fight, which isn’t too much of a worry for Porter because he just finishing stopping Malignaggi. Brook fought last month in stopping little known Alvaro Robles in 8 rounds.
Brook will likely have to be open to traveling to the United States to take the fight. The question is will Brook agree to the money being offered to him and to the likely condition that he’ll need to travel to take this fight. If he doesn’t want the fight with the dangerous Porter, he’ll have lots of ways of getting out of it by not agreeing with the contract deals. Frankly, I’d be surprised if Brook takes the fight after the way Porter took Malignaggi apart.
Brook is a decent fighter, but fighting a guy like Porter is got to be something that isn’t high on a lot of fighters’ lists right now. It’s like signing up to get knocked out. Porter looks unbeatable right now after beating Devon Alexander and Malignaggi in back to back fights, and Brook might be an even easier fight than those guys were due to his inexperience against quality opposition and his lack of an inside game.
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