The IBF plans to order Kell Brook, who still hasn’t vacated his welterweight title, to begin negotiating with mandatory challenger Errol Spence Jr. on Oct. 26, IBF championships chairman Lindsey E. Tucker told RingTV.com on Monday.

It’s one of a number of possible scenarios that could involve Brook, who had surgery last month to repair a broken orbital bone in his right eye socket after his knockout loss to Gennady Golovkin on Sept. 10. The camps would have 30 days to negotiate; if a deal can’t be reached a purse bid would be ordered.

Brook promoter Eddie Hearn hasn’t yet indicated to the IBF what he plans to do. Brook (36-1, 25 knockouts) suggested after the loss at 160 pounds he plans to campaign at junior middleweight, though nothing formal has been announced, leaving the IBF (and fans) to wonder of his intentions. Hearn didn’t immediately return an email for comment.

“We’ve heard a lot of rumors,” Tucker told RING. “But on Oct. 26, we’re scheduled to notify Brook to start negotiation with Errol Spence. Now a couple of things could happen. He could say he’s giving up the title to move up in weight. He could come up and say that he suffered from an eye injury and he needs some additional time, so we could give him a medical extension. But we won’t know unless they come to us and say we’re giving up the title — we won’t know anything before then.”

Tucker added of the various rumors that have swirled: “At one point, we heard he was going to move up to junior middleweight and the next thing we heard he was going to stay at welterweight. So we don’t know what’s going on.”

The highly regarded Spence (21-0, 18 KOs) is Brook’s mandatory after he dismantled and stopped Leonard Bundu in six rounds on Aug. 21, nearly knocking him through the ropes in Coney Island. Spence called out Brook afterward, asking him to drop out of his scheduled match with Golovkin and fight him instead.

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