Kell Brook likely to defend IBF title against Errol Spence

IBF welterweight titlist Kell Brook is looking increasingly likely to make his mandatory title defense against Errol Spence Jr. as a purse bid for the fight has been scheduled for next Tuesday, promoter Eddie Hearn tells RingTV.

Hearn would rather see his fighter move into the junior middleweight division considering how hard it is for Brook to make 147lbs, but Brook doesn’t seem keen on just walking away from the world title he fought so hard to get.

“He has a purse bid with Errol Spence next Tuesday,” Hearn told RING in Manhattan. “I want him to move up to 154 pounds because I know he’s a better fighter at 154 pounds. He wants to stay at 147 because he doesn’t want to vacate his belt. So, we’ll probably fight Errol Spence.”

The Matchroom promoter also says that they’ve already reached out to Al Haymon (who handles Spence) with an offer for the fight, but with Haymon going incommunicado Hearn can only surmise that he’s looking to win a purse bid. Per IBF rules, Kell Brook would be entitled to the lions share of a 75/25 split of the winning bid.

“Hopefully, Mr. Haymon can dig nice and deep, which he’ll have to do to beat us on that one,” Hearn said of the purse bid.

And despite Hearn’s preference for Brook to fight at 154lbs, he admits there’s slim pickings for his fighter at this time at the weight. Brook would love to get a fight against Miguel Cotto, but Hearn knows that’s unlikely to happen. Cotto is currently scheduled to face James Kirkland on PPV, Feb. 25.