Timothy Bradley believes THE RING’s No.1-ranked welterweight Kell Brook is underestimating the threat of Argentine Diego Chaves ahead of his IBF title defense next month.

Unbeaten Brook (35-0, 24 knockouts) meets Chaves (23-2-1, 19 KOs) on Oct. 24 in his home city of Sheffield, England, and is being widely tipped to retain his belt for the third time. However, 147-pound rival Bradley, who fought to a split draw with Chaves in Dec. 2014, insists such an outcome is far from certain for the British star.

Pointing to Chaves’ decent displays against some of the division’s elite, the American warns that 29-year-old Brook and a sell-out partisan crowd at the Sheffield Arena should prepare themselves for a long, hard night.

“It’s a tough fight for Kell Brook. He doesn’t realize that,” said Bradley, the magazine’s No. 4-ranked welterweight. “Diego Chaves is underrated. He has had a few opportunities and came up short but the guy can box and he can fight on the inside.

“He has good power in both hands and Chaves can mix it up. I think it’s a tough fight for Brook – but if he can get him out of there, then Brook is something special; I can tell you that much!

“Chaves gave Keith Thurman problems and he gave myself problems and he was giving Brandon Rios problems too. I think he’s a great fighter. It’s a dangerous fight for Brook.”

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