Kell Brook - Where Next?

A lot of rumours doing the rounds today that Kell Brook has been offered a fight with Miguel Cotto this summer, subject to him coming through against Bizier this weekend, and let’s face it most on here assume he will do that without too much trouble. I am never particularly sure what to make of such rumours. The cynic in me is always a little wary of announcements of decent sounding match ups in the run up to underwhelming defences, can’t help but feel they are a convenient and easy way of distracting attention from a run of poor opponents or the like. Hell, if I’d have had a pound every time Calzaghe was linked with Jones or Hopkins during his super middle days I suspect I’d have made more from his career than he did.

However, if only to stimulate some debate about one of the more high profile British fighters who is in action this weekend and to prove I can do modern populism (or shamelessly currying responses as I am sure Milky will rightly accuse me of) I wondered what folk make of a potential fight with Cotto, or if it is not Cotto then who? Khan, for the immediate future seems dead in the water currently. If he loses to Canelo one would have to think he will be rebuilding and if he wins I am not sure the fight is particularly easy to make. Khan is rightly or wrongly accused of having an inflated opinion of his own worth, struggle to imagine a win over Alvarez will do too much to alleviate this as an obstacle to getting the fight made.

Other than this who would we be happy with? Manny maintains Bradley will be his last fight, if Bradley loses he may, like Khan, be looking to rebuild. Thurman appears to be in limbo after his postponement against Porter. Not too sure of Garcia’s plans, but it could be a case that a move up or a catchweight fight against Cotto could be the best of the available options. What I suspect we all agree on is post Bizier there can be no more excuses or inconvenient, absolutely unavoidable mandatory challengers it needs to be a named opponent of decent quality. What do others see as being his next step, be it a realistic one or your personal choice?

Cotto would be a good name and a potentially great fight, in my eyes at least. If he were to win and win big it would elevate his status massively, and for fear of this turning in to a Brook vs Khan thread it would literally leave Khan knowhere to go aside from facing Brook. Brook though would have the US TV companies and casinos knocking on his door and could get whoever he wanted.

Like this fight.

Even for those whose not easily pleased surely couldn't grumble too much if it were to be Cotto next. Yes he has a few (lot) of miles on the clock but even recent form is decent and this would be a major step up for Brook. However the cynic in me like you Jeff feels this is unrealistic, Hearn doesn't have the clout to bring Cotto to the UK and I can't see Matchroom bowing down to Cotto's demands, would it be that big of seller in the US market to generate PPV money ? Not sure what to make of Brook nearly 40 fights only one ranked in the top 15 seems he's the stage Calzaghe was at many moons ago when facing the Evans Ashira and Tocker Pudwills of the world.

My own belief is after Brook deals with Mr Bizier without Khan he's going to have to take the raw end of deal and travel to the U.S for a couple of fights Jessie Vargas would be a decent yardstick.

Cheers, Rodders

Have now gone away and been looking at this fight in the rumour mill.....

APPARENTLY....!!!!!!........

Brook has also been in talks with GGG.. Wow.

HBO have apparently offered a June date to Brook to face Cotto, not sure how much Cotto knows about that though.

Do our two British WW superstars (well one is, the other is just a pretender) have some sort of suicide pact going on between them? I mean GGG..... No Kell, no no no.

Brook's too much of chicken tikka to fight cotto. He could fight maidana... A bit of argy bhaji

Trust you're regretting currying favour now rowley.

Presumably cotto brook would be at 154... Intriguing fight if there's substance to the rumour.

Good fight if it comes off but seeing as it's Brook he'll probably have a trilogy with Malignaggi instead.

If Brook REALLY wants to test himself then once he's dealt with Bizier let's see him take on the IBF No 2, Errol Spence Jr. That guy has a SERIOUS amount of talent. It'll be interesting to see whether he tries to spin his way out of that fight or take him on.

Agreed with bounce. Brook needs to move now, his next mandatory after bitzer is Spence. Spense could pull his pants down in front of his home fans for very little money. Might be a good time for brook to fight a voluntary. Garcia was the one I heard he was chasing. Cotto would be a good move though.

Cotto could be an interesting option. Far better than anyone Brook has been up against but also at a stage where he is on decline age wise.

Whilst I think it'd be a good name to have I do think that even an ageing version could cause problems.

It would be a good fight were it to come off. I think cotto wins. Sooner or later (later it seems) brook will have to fight a legitimate contender by process of elimination if nothing else. Will they be making any decisions until they see the outcome of the khan fight?

Cant really grumble if it sid come off

Cottos problem against Canelo was that his punches just seemed to bounce off of canelo as he was hitting a man 15/20lbs heavier than him
kell is a strong welterweight but isn't even close to being canelo sized and doesn't hit as hard as canelo

Add that canelo has Lara, Trout, Anglo, Mosley, Citron, Lopez etc on his record whereas brook has Porter and that's it

Brook beat porter but it wasn't exactly a shutout, was very scrappy and brook just did enough to win rounds, Cotto is better than porter and a lot cuter, I'm sure he'd fancy it himself

Still given Brooks opponent history and hearns mouth can't see jt happening

Kell Brook vs Carson Jones III

Purely name dropping in order to keep himself in the limelight in the build up to Saturday I'm afraid.

Not a good opponent for Hearn to choose. Lower share of the purse to fight a guy who lost to Khans next opponent.

Can't see this happening in a million years. If it did, I'd expect a long, painful, embarrassing night for Brook.

Yeah. Now khan has signed up to a huge fight i guess they have to find new names that keep their profile up

Dipper Brown wrote:Can't see this happening in a million years. If it did, I'd expect a long, painful, embarrassing night for Brook.

Cotto would probably win but I doubt it would be embarrassing for Brook, it's easy to forget that it's been a long time since Cotto has won a big fight against a fully fit prime opponent. Margarito, Foreman, Martinez, Mayorga and Geale were all busted by the time he faced them hence why Trout had such an easy night against him.

Wouldn't be a long night for ggg

Brook doesnt really have any distinguishabe wins on his ledger other than a kind of scrappy win over Porter. Cottos latest showing against Alvarez should be sufficient to make him a favourite over Brook who still has plenty to prove.

I suspect its a pie in the sky fight though. Hearn has named dropped every fighter going on the eve of a another pointless fight for Brook. Getting a little bit desperate now that their go to guy Khan has taken the wind out of their sails by taking the Alvarez fight. Time to pose with the chequebook?

No interest in Brook, he's been a shameful world champion. It's been more than 18 months since he won the belt and looks to have zero desire to prove himself excluding his bromance affection for Khan.

Amazing than Eddie can get AJ a title shot yet a fighter like Brook with much more talent is still struggling to make his mark. FFS Josh Warrington gets a bigger push from Hearn these days

I went to the weigh in today as I was kicking around in town. Some observations: Brendan Ingle is really old, and is looking it (still an absolute legend though). Luke Campbell went for some post weigh in food in the bar/restaurant my nephew's girlfriend used to work. Ryan Rhodes is still in really good shape. Eddie Hearn almost certainly does his eyebrows (not Ryan Rhodes', I can understand why those that don't understand basic punctuation could get confused).

Unlikely I will have any more "from the frontline" updates beyond this as I am not in town tomorrow, but I will of course keep you updated should that change.

Rowley wrote:I went to the weigh in today as I was kicking around in town. Some observations: Brendan  Ingle is really old, and is looking it (still an absolute legend though). Luke Campbell went for some post weigh in food in the bar/restaurant my nephew's girlfriend used to work. Ryan Rhodes is still in really good shape. Eddie Hearn almost certainly does his eyebrows (not Ryan Rhodes', I can understand why those that don't understand basic punctuation could get confused).

Unlikely I will have any more "from the frontline" updates beyond this as I am not in town tomorrow, but I will of course keep you updated should that change.

Ha, top post.

Hoping for a miracle for Gary Sykes tomorrow. He's up for it at least.

Brook vs Cotto would be a brilliant match - that would be superb work if they can pull that off. At 154 and in NY, Brook would have to top the Porter performance to win. I'd love to see it signed.

I think tomorrow will be fun, too. Bizier is a scrapper from what I remember of him.

I really think people are so harsh on Brook... He won the title, got stabbed... He fought a mandatory then pretty much had a keep busy fight against Gavin, not covering himself in glory of course... Was about to face a decent WW and then broke a rib so his mandatory came around and the IBF are genuinely strict so they would strip him... I think that just really is unlucky more than anything, I know he's Britain's boxer we love to hate...

I would probably back Cotto. Especially if they were to fight at 154.

What about Brook vs Garcia?? Brook would win and gain more popularity in America.

I think people are maybe overly harsh but it's deserved isn't it

He's 30 this year and has been around for ages, and except for Porter who's he fought

Yes he struggled with injuries with the cancelled Alexander fights and yes he was stabbed but how many voluntaries etc has he fought, becoming a joke.

He's doing what khans doing with Floyd......wasting parts of his career hoping for the payday.....but at least Amir has a career. Good reign at 140 and decent enough opponents at 147 now has shown cajones against a much bigger canelo

Losing patience with brook even if I am a fan of him from a boxing perspective I like his style and think he's a really good fighter but these fights do nothing

Baby faced assassin wrote:
Yes he struggled with injuries with the cancelled Alexander fights and yes he was stabbed but how many voluntaries etc has he fought, becoming a joke.

Frankie Gavin is the only voluntary he's fought, he can't be blamed too much for the IBF making Dan and Bizier his mandatories, his next fight needs to be a worthwhile opponent though.

Gavin
Jo Jo Dan
Porter
Robles
Senchenko
Jones II
Saldivia
Jones I
Hatton

How many of those are actually worthwhile opponents. Eliminator after eliminator and overmatched opponents and its not like 147 has been a wasteland, its probably been the healthiest of all the weight categories not only for the top fighter but loads of good nearly men

As I said I was a fan but he's done almost nothing in his career which saddens me \

Brook was president of the Who Needs Him club for years. Far too much risk for too little reward. Unfortunate that he's a good fighter who doesn't sell as well as his talent demands. Arguably a better all round fighter than Khan or Hatton but nothing like the fanbase

I dont think he was a who needs him fighter particularly, certainly not president of the club. Hes just been the recipient of unambitious matchmaking. He was offered a title fight Bradley a few years ago and turned it down to engage in IBF eliminators. They have clearly been happy to just stick to the IBF low risk schedule so far.

I am sure Brook himself would like some higher profile fights. Maybe he should consider a deal with Haymon to open some doors over in the U.S for him.

I, as with others may be harsh but i think it's completely legitimate for Brook.

His next fight after this will be Autumn/Winter time so if he does fight a top ranked opponent then, it would be over two years from when he won the belt to defending it against a decent opponent!

If his next opponent isn't a universal top 10 fighter, he'll be a laughing stock.

catchweight wrote:I dont think he was a who needs him fighter particularly, certainly not president of the club. Hes just been the recipient of unambitious matchmaking. He was offered a title fight Bradley a few years ago and turned it down to engage in IBF eliminators. They have clearly been happy to just stick to the IBF low risk schedule so far.

I am sure Brook himself would like some higher profile fights. Maybe he should consider a deal with Haymon to open some doors over in the U.S for him.

It seem to me that he's been badly managed & advised. I don't know the full story with turning down Bradley but I can imagine Hearn promised him the earth & more if he stuck with the IBF and Hearn's Plans. I think Haymon would be a smart move, seems to be getting his fighters decent match ups and money. As somebody else mentioned Brook seems to be in the same situation Calzaghe & Hatton found themselves in with Warren.

One of the issues is that these rather pointless IBF fights and domestic showdowns against the likes of Frankie Gavin are nice, risk free earners for Matchroom. With their Sky backing they can bank good money for no risk. Has the ambition been there to fight any big names apart from a domestic fight with Khan? Not so far. They have to pay more to entice bigger names and then they have to deal with other promoters who can rival them for bigger shares of the profit.

Matchroom are good for building profiles in the UK and selling fights here, especially domestic rivalries. But when the big fights are over over in the U.S, it looks like Haymon is the one witht the connections to make them happen. It seems to have worked for Degale and Frampton in terms of unlocking fights over there that may not have happened otherwise.

He really does need to step up from here and the IBF need to sort out their rankings, he's now had two mandatories against opponents who should not be in the ring with him, against that level of opposition he just does what he wants. He's had three poor defences now, Brook will breeze past anybody outside the top five in the division and even then on top form I think he'd do a number on Bradley and Thurman. Big fight next please.

Completely agree Hammer. Think he wipes the floor with Garcia and Bradley. Thurman Would be competitive in my eyes.

Me personally i'd like to see the Garcia fight next

I think he definitely does a number on Garcia. Thurman and Bradley? Two Pickems for me, though it's probably a good time to get Bradley.

When has Kell 'king of the bums' Brook ever proven he could wipe the floor with fighters of Bradley or Garcia's calibre?

Brook's level is bums like Carson Jones, Kevin Bizier, Frankie Gavin and Jo Jo Dan.

Bradley boxes Brook's ears off. Experts on here claiming Bradley's on the slide. He's only lost to PACMAN twice. Who's Brook beaten Porter?

Brook 36-0 30 years old and still a bum.

Pathetic comment.

I think Bradley could be too complete a fighter for Brook. I could be wrong however as we don't really know what level Brook is.

It is a shame, he has probably 3-4 years left and is unlikely to fight more than 6-7 times within this time.

Really needs to be making all these fights count.

If he takes on a Cotto / Bradley / Garcia next it would hopefully elevate him into some bigger fights.

Not a brook fan jermaine?

I share the frustration at the lack of names on his cv but I do think he can fight.

Garcia has largely been fighting washed up names since his excellent win over Matthysse. He's had some very friendly judging to protect his '0'. I like brook against him.

Bradley's had a lot of tough fights, I certainly wouldn't call him washed up but he doesn't look as sharp as he once did to me... it might be a good time to get him.

Im not Brooks biggest fan but that's purely based on his opposition list to date.

Yes Bizier, Dan, Gavin are poor fighters at world level.....but I genuinely think Brook is World Class. He beat Porter who is world level. I also think he can beat most if not all WW out there.

He has been restricted by his promoter and injuries.

He is to blame to some extent, but he is CLEARLY levels above at the moment and I think he could easily unify the division and do so in great fashion.

Hopefully he does fight a good fighter next.

At Welter Brook has a very good chance on beating Bradley. I think Thurman and maybe Porter are his hardest fights at the weight. I would pick him to beat Garcia for sure.

Far too talented to be fighting these mandatories over and over. I look forward to seeing him tested again. I do think Brook has very good all around ability.

Bradley is an odd one, and has always been a odd one

He's bull strong and can win an ugly fight, but he's also got great athletic abilities like fast hands and quick reflexes that allow him to box on the back foot. Don't really know what he's better at but most fights he impliments both styles.

But his problem is his power, and the fact that when he does get clipped it's usually cleanly

Porter gave brook problems and bradley can do every thing that porter can do with a bit more efficiency, but he lacks porters power and if vargas can almost stop bradley then you'd imagine Brook would do even worse

It's a logical fight but hard sell if Bradley loses to pacquiao (as he should) again

If somehow Bradley were to win (cleanly) against Pacquaio, then it will be a super fight for Brook.

Though if Bradley beats Manny, he won't fight Brook. High risk and all that. He will maybe fight Garcia or Vargas next. Bigger names in the states.

Brook could do worse, than go over to the states and fight a top contender. I know he had won his title overseas, but another class showing, could get him some added exposure in his division.

They turned down a Bradley fight a few years ago to pursue a series of IBF eliminators. Back then I think Bradley would have won. Not as sure now. Bradley has built up a pretty good record but has a lot of miles on the clock now. He has been boxing in a much higher league than Brook though. The only genuine contender Brook fought was a close enough fight so I think Bradley would be well able to go one better if Brook didnt raise his own performance a couple of notches. Would fancy Brook over Garcia, but hes been written off a couple of times in the past and managed to win. Again, a better level of competition than Brook. Brook has looked sharp enough and impressive enough against the C listers that you would fancy him to give pretty much nyone in the division a good fight. But his comptetion has been that bad compared to the others that its hard to draw a solid conclusion.

Spence is coming. Brook may forget about the talk and fight his mandatory.

I haven't seen it but from what I understand jim, Spence was very impressive in dismantling Algieri last night. That kid is only going to get better. He is the IBF no.1 contender so should be Brook's next mandatory. Be interesting to see if Brook avoids him or if Spence picks up another strap first.

It's still a very winnable fight for Brook, a lot will be made of Algieri taking Pacquiao and Khan the distance but he was due to be dismantled again.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:It's still a very winnable fight for Brook, a lot will be made of Algieri taking Pacquiao and Khan the distance but he was due to be dismantled again.

Spence would beat Brook. Won't be easy, but I would back him to get a decision.

It is rumoured Brook will fight a voluntary or two, then vacate and move to 154. Eddie will probably advise this. 154 isn't the most difficult division and it will allow Brook to be a two weight champion.