Kell Brook wants big fights, but may have to move up in weight

Kell Brook is no stranger to taking risks for big opportunities. Last year, he made an aggressive move to middleweight to take on Gennady Golovkin. That fight left him with a broken orbital bone.

Now, the question for Brook is another big one: does he keep trying to make welterweight in order to secure big fights, or vacate his IBF belt and move up to junior middleweight?

"Everybody on my team wants me to move up to 154 pounds, because when I'm training I am a lot better, a lot healthier, have more energy for sparring than I do when I have to kill myself to make 147. Making 147 drains the life out of me, but it took me all my life to get the IBF world title, and I still want to defend what's rightfully mine.”

“The big fights,” if you’re wondering, include Manny Pacquiao, the Keith Thurman-Danny Garcia winner, and, yes, Amir Khan, his long-running press rival.

Of course, Brook has a mandatory title defense due against Errol Spence Jr, the highly-touted prospect who has made mincemeat of his opponents thus far as a pro. But Brook says that Spence doesn’t really have the name value yet to make it a big fight — thus, he may not be attractive enough for Brook to “kill himself” making 147.

Brook told ESPN.com that he is willing to fight Spence, and that if it comes down to it, he really doesn’t want to give up his belt without actually losing it in the ring.

Do you think Brook will take the big risk against Spence, or move up to 154?