By Scott Gilfoid: Amir Khan has given his final word on the Kell Brook situation, and he says he needs to stay at 147 and defend his IBF welterweight title against his mandatory challenger Errol Spence Jr. in his next fight. Khan says he might give Brook the 50-50 percentage cut he’s looking for against him if he takes the Spence fight and beats him. It’s a good investment for Khan to push Brook into the Spence fight, because it could make their fight HUGE if Brook wins.
Khan isn’t going to be Brook’s lifeline to save him from having to fight Spence. Khan says he won’t do that. He wants Brook to take the fight no matter how much risk involved. After all, Brook was game when his challengers were the likes of Jo Jo Dan, Frankie Gavin and Kevin Bizier. If he’s the No.1 fighter in the 147lb division, then facing and beating Spence shouldn’t be a problem at all for him.
Khan says it’s important that Brook face Spence rather than avoid the fight, because it will help make their fight later this year a bigger one. If Brook can beat Spence, then it will make the Khan-Brook fight a big one not only in the UK but also in the U.S, which it probably wouldn’t attract a lot of interest.
Khan notes that Brook has only fought two quality opponents during his career in facing Gennady Golovkin and Shawn Porter. Brook-Porter was a really close fight, according to Khan.
Brook seems to be leaning in the direction of moving up to 154 to avoid the Spence fight. Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn is completely in favor of him moving to junior middleweight with the excuse that it’s too hard for him to make 147.
The argument goes out the window when Brook says he wants to fight Khan, Manny Pacquiao, Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia at 147. In other words, Brook is willing to fight some guys at 147, but not others. Khan says that Brook was willing to fight Jo Jo Dan and Kevin Bizier when they were his mandatory challengers in the past. He thinks it’s interesting that now all of a sudden with Brook having to face a really good mandatory in Spence, he wants to move up to 154.
Khan said this to Fighthype.com about Brook needing to fight Spence:
“I am going to have a tune-up fight in my next fight,” said Khan. “Maybe the [Brook] fight can happen at the end of the year. I know he has a mandatory against Errol Spence. I think Kell needs to fight Errol Spence, because this could open a big fight in America to get the American fans on his side, then the fight between me and him will be much bigger. Apart from Shawn Porter and Triple G, which was very, very close against Shawn Porter, who else has Kell fought really? Nobody. I want the fight to be big, and a good one for me financially. If Kell Brook wins against Errol Spence, the fight will be even bigger. Then maybe it won’t be 50-50. Otherwise, it has to favor me. If he goes to 154, then the fight between me and him won’t happen. If he moves to 154, then he moves away from a big payday. He’s in a [expletive] position. He’s always wanted easy fight or a fight that will give him a big payday like against Triple G. We all know he did that for the purse. Against Errol Spence, his mandatory, he’ll move up [to avoid the fight]. He doesn’t want to face him because he’s scared. I think he really wants to cash in and avoid his mandatory. That’s the reason he wants to fight me. Maybe the IBF lets him go ahead [and steer around the Spence fight], because it [Khan vs. Brook] would be a big, big fight, even if he has to give up his IBF title. I think he’s looking at the most money option, and winning and losing doesn’t really matter to him. I can’t respect a fighter that gives up his title. I respect him more if he goes into a fight and gets beat then avoiding a guy not to fight a guy. If it was Kevin Bizier or Jo Jo Dan, then I think he’d definitely take the mandatory fight. He doesn’t want to be in the trenches. I think he’ll definitely pull out of the fight with Errol Spence. If the Kell Brook fight is going to happen, it’s going to happen at the end of the year. I want a nice tune-up fight to get back to the winning ways,” said Khan.
I get the feeling that the only way Brook fights Spence is if he’s dragged into the ring kicking and screaming. Even then, I think he might not put up much of a fight like with his last fight against Gennady Golovkin. Brook ran around the ring for four rounds. In round 5, Brook was hit with a body shot, and he stopped fighting back.
The boxing fans at ringside thought it was clever stuff that Brook was ducking and weaving to avoid Golovkin’s withering fire in the final moments in the fight. But in the last seconds, it was painfully obvious that Brook had quit and was not going to throw any more punches. He was done for the fight, and he needed saving by his trainer Dominic Ingle. He tossed in the towel and the fight was halted. It was not the type of performance that is inspiring, as Brook didn’t go out on his shield, and he stopped throwing punches in the 5th. It looked like he quit. You know the old saying, ‘Once a fighter quits once. It’s easier the second time.’ I think we could see the same thing with Brook if he fights Spence. Of course, if Brook vacates his title to move up to 154, he’s basically quit.
I don’t think that Brook is going to fight Spence in his next fight or ever. Well, maybe Brook might come looking for a Spence fight if he turns into a big superstar like many boxing fans believe he’ll be. I think Brook might want Spence to throw him a bone in several years for a big fight. I don’t think it’s going to happen though because Brook likely won’t do much after he moves up to 154.
If all he’s going to do is go after the weakest link to try and win a paper title, then he’s not going to increase his popularity. He’ll just be another Liam Smith, a fighter that briefly held the WBO 154lb title. Other than that, Brook probably won’t agree to fight Spence just because Khan wants him to. If you look at Brook’s resume, he’s had pretty much 13 years of weak opponents other than his fights against Porter and Golovkin.
I don’t think that’s an accident that Brook has fought weak opposition for years and years. I see Brook continuing with that trend. I don’t think he’s going to risk his hide against Spence or any of the talented fighters at 154 that could potential destroy him like Jermall Charlo Demetrius Andrade, Erislandy Lara, Jermell Charlo and Julian Williams.
