Anyone who follows me on Twitter and listens to my podcast Pound 4 Pound Boxing Report, knows that, for about two years, I’ve been touting Brook as not just a future welterweight world champion but the next big star in the sport and a future pound-for-pound entrant. When I first saw Brook fight Lovemore N’Dou back in 2011, my first thought was that Brook had it all: he showed terrific skills, athleticism, quick hands and feet, good defence, a great variety of punches and the confidence and cool that it takes to be an elite fighter. Brook was a fighter to watch, and in follow-up fights against Rafal Jackiewicz and Matthew Hatton, the fighter known as “Special K” seemed only to be improving.
Then came Brook’s fight with Carson Jones in July 2012, in which Brook was victorious but was really tested. Brook was wobbled, suffered a bloody nose and lacked his usual composure. While Brook survived the test and won with a late-rounds rally, sceptics came calling, questioning whether Brook was indeed the goods. Brook has since recovered, including a dominant eighth-round stoppage in a rematch with Jones this past July.
On Saturday 26th October, Brook returned to the ring against former WBA Welterweight Champion Vyacheslav Senchenko in Brook’s hometown of Sheffield, England. Senchenko, fresh off of his stoppage of Ricky Hatton, was supposed to provide Brook with a pretty stern test. The fight turned out to not be much of a test at all for Brook as he set the pace early, establishing the jab and outboxing Senchenko through the first two rounds.
Brook showed his power, knocking down Senchenko with a fight hand in round three. Senchenko slightly wobbled Brook during the middle of round four, but Brook responded by getting Senchenko’s attention with a left hook then knocking him down with a right hand with 20 seconds to go in the round. Senchenko got up but was unsteady on his feet and unable to continue, capping off a very impressive performance by Brook.
In the aftermath of Brook’s TKO over Senchenko, his rematch stoppage over Jones and the overall progression throughout his professional career I can only come to one conclusion: it’s time for Kell Brook (31-0, 21 KOs) to step up and test himself against the elite welterweights in the world.
Brook’s next fight should be a world-title fight and I don’t particularly care who it is against, be it Timothy Bradley, Adrien Broner or even Floyd Mayweather (yeah, I know Brook will probably not beat Floyd at this point, but he’ll give Mayweather a better fight than either Robert Guerrero or Canelo Alvarez did.) The question is: who will Brook’s big fight be against?
Brook has been the number one contender for Devon Alexander’s IBF belt for a while and hasn’t got a title shot yet. Negotiations for a bout seemed to be in place for earlier this year when Brook suffered a leg injury. When Brook recovered, Alexander moved on and will be defending the crown against Shawn Porter in December. WBA champ Adrien Broner is set to fight Marcos Maidana in November, while WBO champion Timothy Bradley (fresh off of a decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez) is looking towards a possible rematch with Manny Pacquiao (assuming Pacquiao handles Brandon Rios on Nov. 23). Meanwhile, rumours are that the boss of the welterweight division and the best boxer in the world, Floyd Mayweather, is looking to fight Amir Khan next.
Brook is promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport, and 2014 needs to be the time that they work their magic and put Brook in the ring against one of the big dogs of the welterweight division. Brook is 27 and he needs to waste no more time toiling against the likes of Carson Jones and Senchenko anymore.
Hopefully, Brook will finally get his shot at the IBF belt and the winner of Alexander vs. Porter (I hope it’s Alexander). Maybe Brook will come to the US and fight the winner of Broner, Maidana or even Timothy Bradley. The bottom line is that Kell Brook is ready for biggest and best in the division. If Matchroom Sport can’t get him a fight with the big dogs, I say Brook finds a way to leave Eddie Hearn and signs with Golden Boy or Bob Arum to get a big fight with one of the big names.
Two years ago, I said that Kell Brook was special; he has the talent and the personality to be a big name in the sport. All that Brook needs is the opportunity and a big fight. The time is now for Kell Brook; let’s hope it happens.
