Kell Brook out until next year, but Tim Bradley might be next

A RIB injury forced Kell Brook to withdraw from an October IBF welterweight defence against Diego Chaves. He wonโ€™t be able to fight again until next year but he could go straight into a unification clash with WBO champ Tim Bradley.

โ€œHe wonโ€™t be ready until the end of January [or] February so weโ€™ll look to reschedule the Chaves fight or go straight into Bradley and a unificationโ€ฆ Probably March/April here,โ€ promoter Eddie Hearn told Boxing News. โ€œBradleyโ€™s a very realistic fight, theyโ€™re interested in the fight.

โ€œHeโ€™s fought all the top boys, heโ€™s never been overpaid, heโ€™d get a huge pay day for Brook but he will lose. So that might factor in, Rios for $1.9 million is a lot different from fighting Brook for $1.9 million.โ€

Hope still remains that Brook could be matched with British rival Amir Khan. โ€œI said to him, I donโ€™t know how long Kell will be at welterweight, heโ€™s got two or three more fights then weโ€™ll probably move up,โ€ Hearn said of his latest conversation with Amir. โ€œYou canโ€™t book Wembley and do a fight like that in March youโ€™ve got to do it now, itโ€™s nearly December. So we talked about meeting up. I think he [Khan] is going to fight in January. Thatโ€™s the feedback Iโ€™m getting. Heโ€™s started camp. Heโ€™s not going to be fighting in April. I donโ€™t think the Pacquiao fight happens away.โ€

โ€œWe need to move now. The bulk of the [Carl Frampton-Scott] Quigg fight was done in October and thatโ€™s in February, the 27th, so really we need this wrapped up in December, by the end of December if weโ€™re going to have a May or June fight,โ€ he continued. โ€œI still think the Khan fight will happen next summer, if he fights in January. If he fights in April, itโ€™s not going to happen.

โ€œI look at the numbers for Brook to fight in America, itโ€™s not appealing at all compared to what he could make for the fights over here, the Khan fight in particular. Thereโ€™s $20 million in the pot for the Khan fight, as I said to Amir Khan.โ€

A complication is that the IBF have made Kevin Bizier Brookโ€™s mandatory challenger. Bizier has already lost twice to Brook victim Jo Jo Dan. โ€œItโ€™s not ideal but itโ€™s the IBF. Their mandatories are out of control but at least if you become a mandatory youโ€™re going to get your fight,โ€ Hearn reflected.

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