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Kell Brook hasn’t vacated title

Photo courtesy of Matchroom Boxing
Fighters Network
13
Sep

Kell Brook may have hinted of a move to junior middleweight following his unsuccessful challenge of Gennady Golovkin’s 160-pound titles on Saturday.

But he and promoter Eddie Hearn have yet to contact the IBF to express their plans and if Brook intends to vacate his welterweight title, leaving the New Jersey-based sanctioning body in momentary limbo on what to do with Errol Spence Jr., who is Brook’s mandatory at 147 pounds.

The IBF is formally scheduled to notify Brook on Oct. 26 that he’s due to face Spence, by which point the 30-day negotiating period will start, according to IBF championship chairman Lindsey Tucker. Brook has a broken eye socket that require surgery and would likely necessitate an injury extension, pushing those dates back. But Brook has also spoken of moving to 154 pounds.

“They haven’t said anything to us,” Tucker told RingTV.com of Hearn and Brook’s intentions. “Somebody said that he probably won’t come back down to welterweight but we haven’t heard anything official yet.”



Brook’s bout with Golovkin was this past Saturday, so it’s not as if he’s dragging his feet on making a decision. But the longer he waits, the more forceful the pinball effect will be. Because no announcement has been made, the IBF has yet to consider who Spence would face if Brook does decide to vacate the title, only that it will be the next highest-rated opponent available, Tucker said. Tucker plans to reach out to Hearn shortly to find out their plans so the IBF can start mapping out Spence’s future. Hearn didn’t reply to an email for comment.

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