AJ’s US Damage Control Was More Damaging

AJ’s US Damage Control Was More Damaging

We have all been in that near intolarable position when we have been completely caught off guard. A time when a situation has you completely rattled and searching your brain to find you a way out. Now anyone who has found themselves in this position will tell you it is your immediate reaction that will make or break how you recover from it. Some take it in their stride never really letting anyone know the panic and dismay hidden behind their poker face whilst others get flustered, ramble maybe even get a little embarrassed as the situation gets the better of them. This week we  seen Anthony Joshua may have just found himself in one of the afore mentioned kind of situations.

In the crazy world of boxing the top fighters may only fight three times per year so it is imperative that fans are kept entertained in the long spells between fights. With the help of technology and fans thirst for instant information we have created a kind of WWE type soap opera which keeps fans in the loop and entertained. The emergence of personalities like Eddie Hearn has seen boxing revitalised in the UK. Hearn is a master at exploiting social media and instant news outlets in a way that no other promoter can, but over the past few months we have seen Hearn take a few L’s in the boxing the media with his lies leaving poor old AJ in a tough position.

Anyone who has seen a deposition on TV or a police interview tape will know once something has been recorded it cannot be taken back. We have all seen a courtroom drama where a witness or a suspect may say something which contradicts a previous statement, this is usually the final nail in the coffin in the movies where the the tower of lies come crashing down. In boxing terms it isn’t the the final nail in the coffin, it’s much worse for a promoter, it means fans will now scrutinise every word you say on the situation past, present and future and that’s something no salesman wants.

For the last year the AJ/Wilder saga has played out in the boxing media. At the start it was entertaining seeing all these big characters go at it on a daily basis but as it became clear that no fight was not forthcoming it became more of an annoyance trying to keep up with the who said what. The more time past the more it seemed to me that Eddie Hearn was on the back foot starting with him banning Wilder from entering the ring to call out AJ after Joshua had beaten Parker, then we had him shouting about proof of funds when Wilders team made an offer of $50m after Joshua had publicly demanded that sum. Team Wilder played their ace card when they agreed to fight former unified champion Tyson Fury. Once announced Hearn said the fight would not happen, he said it would be a snooze fest and as it turned out he was wrong on both accounts. Wilder vs Fury was a great fight and ended up doing well commercially and will more than likely do even bigger numbers in the rematch which looks like it could happen next year, leaving AJ locked out.

This week we have seen Anthony Joshua appear on US TV in an attempt to regain the initiative in the AJ/Wilder saga, but with one hand tied behind his back I think he failed miserably. The problem Anthony Joshua had was that his team have made so many contradictory claims in the past that he didn’t really have anywhere to go. For the first time I thought AJ looked frustrated and a little out of depth. In the interview when talking about a unification with fellow Brit Tyson Fury, Joshua says he has never heard anybody talk about being lineal champion and that people when starting out wanted to be IBO,WBA,IBF,WBO and WBC Champion, which is a bizarre statement to make especially when he used the IBO title to discredit the Lineal title. He also said something along the lines that they had booked Wembley for the Wilder fight, but again that just isn’t true as only a couple of months ago Team AJ set a deadline for Wilder to sign to fight AJ at Wembley, the deadline was BEFORE Wilder fought Fury in the biggest fight of his a career.

I have to admit I did feel sympathy for AJ as his trip to the US seemed like a forced attempt at damage control for the AJ brand. He came across very transparent on US TV and it looked to me like his team that have turned him into a superstar have really let him down on this instance. Where could Joshua go after the countless Eddie Hearn IFL interviews with different claims and counter claims each week. What could he say that wouldn’t see him dig an even bigger hole and be dragged into the abyss of contradictions. I have said time and time again that I have no doubt that Anthony Joshua the man, the fighter wants to fight the best. The problem AJ has is that he is commodity with many shareholders who are not willing to risk there asset in a fight…..not yet anyway.

Steven Donnell 

@DjayBoxingBlog

Canelo Signs With DAZN And What It Could Mean For Matchroom USA

Canelo Signs With DAZN And What It Could Mean For Matchroom USA

There are not a lot of constants in boxing, it is a sport where things inside and outside the ring are constantly evolving but the one thing the sport will always retain is its power to shock. Today we woke up to the news that boxing’s biggest superstar had signed a five year deal with newly launched (in the US) streaming app DAZN, a deal worth $365m. DAZN may be the new boys in the US market but they are cash rich and look to be throwing everything at cracking the market to becoming one of the world’s biggest online sport’s platforms.

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For years Canelo Alvarez has been the face of HBO boxing, the pinnacle of  boxing in terms of super fights. A platform steeped in boxing history. A few weeks ago HBO announced it was pulling out of boxing leaving the superstar without a home. Although DAZN are cash rich this deal came as a shock to most as DAZN already have a $1B eight year deal in place with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom and Golden Boy promotions who look after Canelo Alvarez have stated publicly “We are not interested in Co-Promoting Canelo”. As more details have emerged about this deal it has became clear that this deal is between Golden Boy and DAZN, separate from the Matchroom USA deal. This looks like a moment of genius from John Skipper, the Executive Chairman of Performance Group, the owners of DAZN. Skipper looks to have rekindled and relationship with Oscar De La Hoya after both knew each other from their time working together for ESPN, not just bringing in Canelo but also securing a home for Golden Boy and their stable.image.png

So what does this mean for Eddie Hearn and Matchroom USA ? 

Well as it stand it is impossible for us to tell for sure. It was reported that on DAZN Apps launch night which featured AJ vs Povetkin fight, that subscription numbers were particularly poor, in the low tens of thousands if some reports are to be believed . This could mean one of two things for Hearn in my opinion. When DAZN announced their $1B deal with Eddie Hearn it was clear from early on that Eddie had targets to hit. Any fighters signed to the new deal was only offered a short term bumper deals, which most declined and any decent names were co-promotion deals. With HBO pulling the plug on boxing this could be a sign that DAZN may have decided to go another way, i mean its not everyday that the biggest star in boxing becomes a free agent. I’m not saying DAZN will ditch Matchroom USA completely, i am saying that DAZN are looking to build a platform on the back of Canelo and not Matchroom, maybe in the next quarter Matchroom USA will find their budget for putting on shows dramatically cut as DAZN have already secured the rights to stream Anthony Joshua fights from the UK along with Canelo’s fights, It doesn’t get much bigger than that.

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We could also look at this another way. Eddie Hearn has worked with performance group now for over five years, together they have signed some massive deals outside of the US market so we know that there is a good working relationship between both parties. This may well be DAZN telling Eddie Hearn that they know they had given him a near impossible task to crack the US and this is their way of pushing things along. There can be no doubt that this deal puts matchroom USA in a significantly stronger position as subscribers will buy into DAZN in massive numbers to see Canelo, but these people will still be viewing the platforms other shows putting Hearn in a great position to build his own star.

One thing is for sure, this deal isn’t bad for boxing. The way in which boxing is evolving on the business side of things i think it actually makes sense for a platform NOT to be exclusive to one promoter. Any sort of negotiations between Matchroom and Golden Boy just became a hell of a lot easier.

Steven Donnell

Welcome To The Jungle – Hearn Will Never Take Over The US Market

Welcome To The Jungle – Hearn Will Never Take Over The US Market

Here in Britain we really don’t appreciate how simple our lives are when it comes to boxing . Yes we may moan about having to pick up Boxnation and BT Sport on top of our Sky Sports Subscription ( Unless you click on the Satplex picture below which you can thank me for later ) all just to watch boxing . Here in the UK we accept boxing is not one of our main sports but we see it as a stimulant . Our Boxing platforms don’t wrap up boxing in a bow and serve to to us , boxing is there to excel the Liverpool vs Man Utd game that may have took place earlier on in the day , or to keep you tuned In after the Celtic vs Rangers game has finished and do you know what it’s worked , it has came off for guys like Eddie Hearn who have brought boxing to the masses and tapped into that football ( soccer ) mad culture that engulfs all of these small isles .

With the formula of success in his hands who could blame Eddie Hearn for heading to the biggest sports market in the world shouting ” I am here to take over ” . Many people fall into this belief that there is a “western culture” due to there being a McDonnald’s in New York as well as London , due to there being a Taco Bell in Glasgow as well as in LA . The Atlantic Ocean is often overlooked as a pond that separates the UK and the US but it isn’t , it is a massive wild ocean which separates two very different cultures of people and businesses . Eddie Hearn is finding out the hard way that the wars of American Independence of 1775 have made him an outsider , in fact he is now a red coat looking to repatriate the US shouting ” I am here to take over ” .

Hearn has announced he has teamed up with DAZN in an attempt to take over the US , an online streaming platform with Hearn claiming its a deal worth $1B . Now i have been very sceptical about this deal since Eddie announced it , especially since Eddie announced that AJ was not part of the deal , which seems weird as AJ seems to appears on most of there online posters .

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Now a major part of modern American culture is Cinema . With Mafia movies being classed as Cinematography masterpieces . Movies such as the Godfather Trilogy , Goodfellas and Casino being all described as classics in there own right . These movies are powerful due to the fact they show what the modern America was really built on . Instead of being fictional stories they are seen more like documentaries of how some came to the US and ” Took ” the American Dream . Hearn is finding out that there is a MOB mentality ingrained in the US boxing market , with the five families being Top Rank , PBC , Golden boy , DiBella and Tom Loeffler (K2) and like the mafia these people don’t need nor want any outside interference .

As Eddie Hearn has flashed his $1B he has found door after door slammed shut on his face . Hearn didn’t factor into his plans that he is an outsider in a country that is becoming increasingly more insular . With US super powers such as Top Rank already having deals with ESPN , Golden Boy with ESPN + Facebook and PBC now officially teaming up with Showtime there is no need for DAZN . Time and time again we have seen guys like Mikey Garcia, Errol Spence, both Charlo Twins and Adrian Broner say ” Thank’s but no thanks ” .Hearn is finding himself more like Oliver Twist begging for the the scraps from the table rather than the a man who’s landed in the states looking to claim boxing back in the name of King George the III .

Eddie Hearn is a shroud business man who has took boxing and the live boxing show’s experience to a new level here in the UK . There is a whole new generation of boxing fans here in the UK that believe that Hearn invented sport and that the UK is now Mecca in boxing terms . To these people i say the sport needs you but take yourself back away from the pin hole you look through , Mecca is still a bingo hall in the UK , the home of boxing is and always will be in the US . Eddie Hearn is learning the hard way that a big fish outside the bowl will die , whilst the the big fish inside the bowl will fight over scraps .

Steven Donnell

Delboy Chisora Born Again

On Saturday we all watched a show that had come for so much criticism . Yes we expected Whyte vs Parker to be a well matched fight but the rest of the card was looking a bit weak . Well on Saturday took chief support Derek Chisora vs Carlos Takam took the opportunity to take this event by storm and put on a fantastic fight , which by the end of it made Eddie Hearn look a genius .

Set up as the co-main and some people’s preferred fight of the night was Derek Chisora vs Carlos Takam in what promised to be an all out war , and a war is exactly what we got . This fight caught fire right from the off with Takam going straight to work on Chisora . It was hard to tell from the start if Takam was forcing Chisora to the ropes or Chisora was wanting to fight there , but for nearly two rounds of the fight the both boxers never left that two meter square bit of canvas in the corner . Takam was really unloading and you could tell Chisora was hurt , but by using all his experience never looked like he would go down . As the fight went on we seen Chisora throw in little burst during the rounds catching Takam to the body and the head before waving Takam in , inviting him to throw a large volume of punches . I don’t know if Chisora had noticed Takam slow down but from around the fourth round this fight turned into an absolute war . Every time Takam would land two to three punches Chisora had an answer for them off the ropes , to some it may have looked lazy from the Chisora but I actually think he was managing his gas tank , he knew he couldn’t throw at the same rate as Takam so why try . Takam was outboxing Chisora but at no point was Chisora out of this fight . Both guys seemed to be easy targets to hit as the fight went on , both traded bombs as they seemed to throw any notion of defence out of the ring . You really couldn’t take your eyes off of this , it really was fascinating and it got the ending it deserved when Derek Chisora caught Takam with a big looping right hand over the top after a nice feint to the body which sent Takam to sleep . A bit of an upset in some peoples eyes but this was the night that Derek Chisora showed he still has something to 9offer the heavyweight division .

It’s scary to think that Derek Chisora’s name is once again being linked with some of the big names at the very top of the division . Time after time we all right Chisora off , we say he’s shot or that there is many miles on the clock but this performance proves that when this guy is motivated he has the tools to cause anyone problems . Dillian Whyte also scored an impressive win on Saturday putting him in the conversation for a world title shot ……..to think most people i talk to had Chisora beating Whyte in there epic battle, it could have been Delboy in position for another world title shot .

Steven Donnell (DJayBoxing) @DJayBoxingBlog

Whyte vs Parker – Preview + Prediction

So it’s another big fight weekend as we all get ready to see the next instalment of “Dillian Whyte’s road to AJ” as he gets ready to face former world champion Joseph Parker at the O2 Arena in London . Since this fight was announced i have to admit i thought ” Well Done Eddie Hearn ” as this will be the biggest test Whyte has faced since his loss the Anthony Joshua , and this may well be the fight that earns him a second shot AJ .

Dillian Whyte

I have to admit that i have never been a big fan of Whyte .I never really rated him as he has yet to master the most basic boxing fundamentals . He doesn’t have a jab , a tool that is usually imperative if you want to operate at the top level .He has very poor footwork and far to often stands square on and flat footed , but what does that say about Whyte as nobody has been able to punish him for these flaw’s since the AJ fight , that cant just be luck can it ? . It’s not all doom and gloom infact far from it when talking about Dillian Whyte .Whyte is one of these fighters who has the ability to drag his opponents into a dog fight , and that’s where he excels as a boxer . Whyte’s biggest asset is those looping shots he throws that come over the top of his opponents guard , which can become a great equaliser when fighting a more skilful boxer . These shots may look a little unorthodox but they are effective as opponents don’t see them coming . There is also no doubting Whyte can take a shot which i think he will use to advantage , he will let Parker land in order to get his own shots off .

Joseph Parker

Former WBO World Champion Joseph Parker is coming off a points loss to Anthony Joshua after a very poor performance from Parker , something i have to admit is becoming more and more common when talking about the Kiwi heavyweight . I have seen Parker three or four time’s and i am yet to see what all the fuss is about . I thought he struggled against Carlos Takam , he went to the wire with an out of shape Andy Ruiz and he pretty much gave up his world title to AJ without a whimper , a world title he was lucky to have after Hughie Fury danced rings round him all night . Yes i do know Parker has superb hand speed but let’s be honest here , he doesn’t use it to good effect . One thing Parker does have a quick nice jab which will cause Whyte all sorts of problems and he is mobile enough to just outbox Whyte if he can stay disciplined , for me that’s the key to victory for him .

Prediction:

I’ve went over this one a few times in my head . Jospeh Parker has all the tools to win this fight comfortably if he just works off his jab , for me there is doubt that Parker is the more skilful fighter of these two . Whyte has one mission when he enters that ring and that’s to drag Parker into a dog fight , if he can I believe there is every chance he beats Parker , and i think that’s exactly what Whyte will do .

Whyte on the cards ….Split Decision

Steven Donnell (DJayBoxing)

Hearn vs Wilder/Espinoza – Round by Round

Hearn vs Wilder/Espinoza – Round by Round

Not one wise man has ever said that the worlds problems will be sorted on social media but it didn’t stop Eddie Hearn , Stephen Espinoza , Deontay Wilder and few others taking to twitter and arguing like little girls about who’s to blame for AJ vs Wilder not happening . I am going to attempt to take you through a tweet by tweet review and we will see who win’s this on the cards .

It all started when the reporter Brendan Schaub claimed that Deontay Wilder had agreed to EVERY demand Hearn and AJ made , to which Hearn refuted .

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So all seems amicable so far , but everybody knew it wasn’t going to stay amicable for long as Wilder was tagged in the tweet . Screen Shot 2018-06-28 at 19.10.46.png

Now the fun begins as Hearn starts talking about Stephen Espinoza and Al Haymon not proving they had the funds to pay $50m for the fight , even though these guys have put on the biggest grossing fights in boxing . Eddie Hearn claims he still wants proof , well that was enough to draw Wilder in and i have to admit i have to agree with Wilder , AJ has came out of this looking awful . Round 1 Wilder .

Hearn then attempts to even things up with his very own trade mark shot from the funny bone . Screen Shot 2018-06-28 at 19.22.03.png

But WBC World Champion Wilder was having none of it and in typical Wilder fashion he held nothing back . You can feel the rage coming from Wilder . Screen Shot 2018-06-28 at 19.31.25.png

But because Wilder didn’t bother to even argue with Hearn , Wilder just vented his anger  so we will score this a 10/10 .

Now it’s time to bring in a big hitter from the US , Stephen Espinosa who took exception with Hearn’s original tweet and there now there is some brains to back up Wilders anger , Hearn took a big blow against a big hitter here . Screen Shot 2018-06-28 at 19.47.39.png

Hearn could not and should not give up here and lose face , his gloves were off and he was going to attempt to claw Espinoza’s bastarding eye’s out (“Claw Bastarding eyes ” Is a Scottish term of aggression ) .  Round 3 Hearn Screen Shot 2018-06-28 at 19.50.53.png

Espinoza still had his eyes on the prize , Hearn may have hit below the belt in his last tweet but Espinoza will not be deterred from getting his facts out there . but after a great start to the tweet he very nearly lost it toward the end when talking about  “loyalty ” . Round4 Espinoza

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Going into the last round i had it all square . Eddie Hearn had managed to manoeuvre himself into a position where he was the one asking the questions , a very smart ploy when it’s obvious to most what side is holding this fight up . Could Hearn keep it up for just one more round ? . Espinoza again dropped a big shot when pointing out how little Hearn is outside of the UK when it come’s to PPV . Screen Shot 2018-06-28 at 20.11.53.png

Now i was expecting Hearn to come back swinging , his standing in the game had just been challenged but what did we get …well this . Screen Shot 2018-06-28 at 20.12.19.png

To me Hearn just admitted he’s not sure if could sell a PPV to the biggest market in boxing …..This fight was there for the taking and he fluffed after such a good start . Round 5 Espinoza

The Show Must Go On – Frank Warren is having a laugh

The Show Must Go On – Frank Warren is having a laugh

As i sit here writing this article i am watching Matchroom’s Midweek NextGen show at York Hall which will be headlined by Luke Watkins vs Laurence Okolie , a fantastic fight with two young guys who have a great opportunity to to make a big impression on prime time sky sports . Not only is the main event a good fight but Eddie Hearn has made some fantastic match ups on the undercard in a sold out venue on a Wednesday night it really is fantastic promoting , a breath of fresh air after the week Hearn’s rival Frank Warren has had .

Last week I wrote an article called “Why are boxing fans treated with discontent ” which seemed to go down really well with most that read it but little did i know that the best example of this discontent was going to come a few days AFTER i had published . On Sunday the news broke that Billy Joe Saunders vs Martin Murray was cancelled after Saunders pulled out with injury for a second time ……but hey all you people that bought a ticket’s and booked hotels , travel etc to see Saunders vs Murray don’t expect a refund as the show will still be on , just not the main event you paid for .

Rumour has it that this show had only sold around 3000 tickets but it has to asked what was Frank thinking when this fight was made ? It was a fight that nobody was asking for . Since the turn of the year Warren has had nearly as many show’s or fights postponed or cancelled as he has go ahead , it’s actually at the point now were i would advise people not to buy tickets to his shows , and as a boxing fan that really pains me and i would ask what the BBBofC think about this as again fans are being hit in the pocket , not to mention fighters who have paid for full training camps .

I can’t help think that BT Sport have got to be questioning there own decision to partner with Frank Warren to launch boxing on there top class sports platform . Whilst Hearn seem’s to moving on from strength to strength , putting on NextGen shows that could match some of Warren’s card’s , Warren seems to be staggering along like an old dog waiting to be put put his misery .

Why Are Boxing Fan’s Treated With Utter Discontent

Why Are Boxing Fan’s Treated With Utter Discontent

Today i have been sitting reading the news that GGG vs Canelo rematch is all but dead due to negotiations breaking down because a dispute over purse splits , this come’s just a week after AJ vs Wilder broke down in negotiations and now also look’s like it wont be happening anytime soon . After such a promising start to the year the past month has really took the wind right of my sails which has me asking myself ….Does any other sport treat there fans with the utter discontent that boxing does ? .

Time after time we see fight’s that make sense at the elite level fall apart in negotiations , to the point that we see more of these fight’s fall apart more often than they are made . Ever since AJ beat Joseph Parker to pick up his third world title his team have been pushing this narrative that Deontay Wilder did not want to fight AJ . As a war of words kicked off between the two via social media Anthony Joshua told Wilder

“You pay me $50m and il sign the fight tomorrow ”

When Joshua made this statement it was a throwaway comment but to his shock team Wilder came up with the $50m , which would be Joshua’s biggest ever payday so the fight should get made right ? ….Well no as the next demand made was that AJ wanted home advantage , a move that would cap the earning potential of this fight , a demand that the money men behind this offer couldn’t agree to . As of now this fight looks dead in the water which is no big loss to AJ as he could make that kind of money in three easier fights here in the UK keeping his sponsors like StubHub happy as they make millions from ripping fans off to go watch AJ , but why are we as fans willing to accept this just because it’s AJ ? Boxing fans lost all respect for guys like Adonis Stevenson and Danny Garcia for doing something similar .

Over in the the US we have GGG insisting on a 50/50 split when he fights the biggest name in boxing Canelo Alvarez in there long awaited rematch . Now this one is a little bit more complicated due to Canelo failing a drug test in April and his fight with GGG being cancelled . The fight was due to take place in May with all sides agreeing on 65/35 split in favour of Canelo , giving GGG 5% more than he got in the first fight but since the failed drug test GGG and his team feel they should be compensated . Now i am GGG fan but there is no way that he brings 50% to the table, Canelo is by far the main draw here but when we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars there is more than enough cash on the table to get this fight made and to be honest it makes me feel sick that both sides cant get this fight made when I’ve spoke to guys who can’t even cover there training camp due to there purse being so low .

Could you imagine any other sport where the best don’t test themselves against the best . Imagine for a second that in football Barcelona refused to play Real Madrid or in tennis if Andy Murray refused to take on Djokovic . Why are we so willing to accept being treated like this as fans ? At the end of the day our power lays with the pounds , shilling’s and pence that is in our pockets , I think these so called superstars need to remember it is us the fans that put them where they are and we can bring them back down .

No Khan Do Kell

This generation of boxing fans have had to put up with something that at no other time in the sport of boxing have fans had to put up with and that is “Fight Marination” and inevitibly as a bye product “Over-Marination” . Some say it started with Floyd Matweather and his super fight with Manny Pacquiao which took around seven years to get signed, which ended up a bit of a snooze fest. Others say it started back in the 90’s when Lennox Lewis looked set to fight Roddick Bowe in what would have been the biggest fight of that golden era of heavyweights, but after square up’s and heated exchanges the fight had over-marinated one thing led to another and intrest petered out robbing fan’s of the chance to see the best Heavyweight Title fight in a generation. No matter who is to blame for this frustrating and greed based addition to making the biggest and best fights, It looks here to stay.

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Brook calls out Khan in Liverpool (pic from Metro)

Over the past 6 years Britain has had two of the best 147lbs fighters in the world in Amir Khan and Kell Brook which has seen fans foam at the mouth at the prospect of both men meeting in the ring for what would be the biggest domestic super fight since Benn/Eubank in the 1990’s. For years we have had Eddie Hearn tell us this fight would sell out Wembley stadium. We have had Kell Brook call out,insult and mock Khan on a weekly basis tying to goad him into the fight. Although this fight made so much sense at one time Amir Khan would not budge, bite nor waver in his resolute to throw Brook a bone. You see At the same time that Brook wouldn’t leave sheffield and chase big fights , Khan was out challenging the best in the division and picking up some big paydays along the way in the US . Although Brook was a World Champion his CV was weak and Khan used this to his advantage not to come home and fight Brook as Brook needed Khan a lot more than Khan needed Brook .

I think the real reason that the Khan/Brook fight didn’t happen is that although this fight would have made Khan a career high pay day four years ago , he just doesn’t like Eddie Hearn or Brook , instead of throwing Brook a bone he decided to take on the likes of Danny Garcia and Lammont Peterson , keeping the Brook fight as an option whilst trying to make fights with Floyd Mayweather and Manny Paquaiuo which never happened , in a period that also seen Khan badly KO’d three times , which really calmed all talk of the Brook fight being made and the fight looked all but dead  .

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Khan with New Promoter Eddie Hearn (pic from the Independent) 

Now years have passed and as it goes in the crazy world of boxing Amir Khan has now signed a promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom boxing , reigniting hope that the Khan/Brook fight can now be made , i mean it makes sense right ? ….Well I’m not so sure . A lot of people don’t like to admit this but Amir Khan is still bigger name in boxing around the world than Kell Brook and that’s why i have my doubts that this fight will ever be made . I think Eddie Hearn will use Khan on his Matchroom USA show’s to help get them established in the US . Khan has already said there is more chance of him fighting Adrian Broner than Kell Brook , and that would need to take place in the US to maximise interest  , and that would be a great statement by Matchroom that they are serious about there US Venture .

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Brook after his first win at 154lbs ( pic from daily mail)

So where now for Brook ? , Well Brook has now lost his 147lbs title and moved up to 154lbs , one of the most stacked divisions out there at the moment but still not a lucrative division . The only route i see open to Brook is the WBO route , where champion Sadam Ali will face Liam Smith in May . Im sure Brook and Eddie Hearn will be praying that Ali wins that fight as it would be a lot easier to get a fight with Ali signed as Smith fights for Frank Warren and there is no way he would let Brook get his hands on the title . Kell Brook is not finished just yet , he could easily cash out with a Jerrett Hurd or Charlo coming to the UK in what would be a Sky PPV event , but i believe Brook’s next loss is his last one so i don’t see him rushing to sign up to fight those guys if he can avoid it  .