Poll: Who should IBF champion Kell Brook face next?
Published:
Kell Brook retained his IBF welterweight title in impressive fashion with a fourth-round stoppage win over Jo Jo Dan at the Motorpoint Arena in his native Sheffield at the weekend.
Returning from a seven-month absence – during which he was stabbed in the leg while on holiday in Tenerife – the Special One made light work of the Romanian, dropping his man four times en route to a one-sided victory.
And afterwards Brook and promoter Eddie Hearn wasted little time before calling out fellow British welterweight Amir Khan.
Here we run the rule over five of Brook’s most likely opponents and give you the chance to vote for who you think he should fight.
Amir Khan 11/10
King Khan may not have a world title at present but the Bolton man believes – or at least has publicly stated – that there are bigger fights out there for him.
The former two-time champion claims that Brook has only one credible win – his defeat of Shawn Porter – on his resume and while open to the idea of a domestic dust up is thought to favour a lucrative Vegas bout with Miguel Cotto.
Juan Manuel Marquez 5/2
As a seven-time champion Marquez is exactly the sort of fighter Khan feels Brook needs to beat before he is at the necessary level, having mixed it with the likes of Timothy Bradley, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The fact the Mexican lost to all of those big names and is now 41 means Brook could earn a big-name scalp with relatively little risk.
Brandon Rios 4/1
Former WBA lightweight champion Rios recently made the step up to 147lbs and was thrown into the deep end in a bout with Pacquaio that went the distance.
he 28-year-old has since beaten Diego Gabriel Chaves and avenged an earlier defeat to Mike Alvarado and would provide Brook with a stern test.
Manny Pacquaio – 10/1
At 36-years-old and with five losses now on his resume the Pac Man is not the boxer he was five years ago. He defends his WBO strap against Mayweather Jr in the most anticipated fight of all time later this year and is the favourite to lose at the MGM Grand.
Even if he did lose he would remain one of the biggest names Brook could fight and the chance to take his IBF belt to earn a unification rematch with Mayweather means the fight would also appeal to the Filipino.
Floyd Mayweather Jr – 12/1
The man everyone wants. If Mayweather beats Pacquiao as expected logic dictates that Brook should be the next man on his agenda so that Money can unify the division.
Brook would jump at the chance to fight the Pretty Boy as both the huge pay day and the chance to stop the pound-for-pound King would offer him a chance to make history.
Whether the American would be willing to risk his legacy against the younger man, however, remains to be seen.
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All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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