By Gav Duthie: It seems evident that Kell Brook won’t sail off into the sunset just yet after his long-awaited grudge match victory over Amir Khan.
There is talk of him facing Chris Eubank Jnr at a catchweight of 155lbs as well as Danny Garcia at Super Welterweight. Even a potential rematch with Amir Khan has been mentioned. Kell seems to be in a great place at the moment mentally.
His ill-fated decision to face Gennadiy Golovkin in 2016 and obsession with the Khan fight stalled and then derailed his career but if he is serious about continuing, he still has the chance to chase those missed opportunities over the last few years.
This article will explore what the 35-year-old Kell has left to give and what might be his best options.
Missed Opportunities
I think the biggest opportunity that Kell Brook missed in the last five years was the chance to be a two-weight world champion. He made his 154lb debut in March 2018, dismantling Sergey Rabchenko in 2 rounds with a destructive performance.
Between then and now, there have been eight different world champions in the division. Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano are the current holders of the four belts.
Between 2018 and 19, they were getting passed around like a virus between Jarrett Hurd, Julian Williams, Jeison Rosario, Jaime Munguia, Tony Harrison, and Erislandy Lara (WBA regular).
Later in 2018, after a sub-par performance from Brook against Michael Zerafa, he took the whole of 2019 off.
During this period I have little doubt that he could have easily picked up a world title if he stayed active. Even a Brook at 80% would have beaten Hurd, Williams, Rosario, or Harrison.
The others would have presented a challenge, but I feel he has a chance in all of them. Once the Charlo-Castano undisputed fight is settled, it is likely that some of the belts may become vacant if the winner decides to move up in weight.
At the moment, Kell doesn’t really have a weight class being that his fight with Khan was at 149lbs and his last official fight before was at welterweight.
If it is something that Kell wants, I think there is no doubt he can become a two-weight world champion.
Legacy Fights (and money)
Despite all I’ve stated, Kell has made no mention of being a world champion again. The win over Khan was worth much more to him than a belt.
Perhaps at this stage of his career, he is only looking to make fights that boost his legacy and bank balance. He was a world champion, and that will always be the case, so which fights would mean more to him than belts?
Eubank Jnr is the only real fight that Sky Sports have that could potentially be put on Box Office. Brook is unlikely to accept anything less now and apparently asked for £10 million to fight Conor Benn on DAZN.
I think the Eubank fight is a waste of time. Eubank’s best wins have actually come at 168lbs so it doesn’t really make much sense. He isn’t going to make that kind of money to fight Benn, and that isn’t really a legacy fight either.
Best of both worlds
There are not many fights out there that can give Brook the legacy he desires as well as the financial benefits to risk what he has just achieved against Khan.
The best fight out there in my opinion is Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman. Thurman was the first name that Kell called out when he won his title from Shawn Porter back in 2014.
They are both at a similar stage in their careers, closer to the end than the beginning but are still big names. Thurman didn’t do too well at the last PPV, but a bigger opponent could change that and give him a vital win that could get him a chance to face Errol Spence Jnr or Terence Crawford.
Conversely, if Brook were to win, he would have another victory against one of the best welterweights of the era and may even get a rematch with Spence or Crawford himself. It is a fight that sells in the UK and the US and a win that could do a lot for either fighter.
