British boxer Kell Brook’s stock is again rising by the minute following his one-sided beating of Amir Khan on Saturday night, as fellow countrymen Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. have challenged the former welterweight champion Brook (40-3, 28 KOs) to a bout.
“After Josh Kelly messed up, who is there now for me? Who can I really test myself against? Who claims to be the best in Britain?” Benn told TalkSport. “[Brook] is still sharp, he has still got his timing, he has still got accuracy. That makes the fight more realistic. I am tied into DAZN but I will leave that to them. I want to get stuck straight in. I fancy that fight next. I just messaged my trainer. I fancy that fight next. That's what I said. If I have to wait, I will wait. If I don't, then I don't. I just want that fight. He claims to be the best in Britain. He looked unbelievable [against Khan], he looks in shape, he looked great on the scales. Now that is me challenging myself against a former world champion who claims to be the best. Idols to rivals, that's what it is.”
Benn posted a picture on Instagram embracing Khan after the fight with the caption, “We agreed I’d take care of business for him!”
A Brook bout with Benn could make sense considering they both fight at 147 pounds.
A potential fight against Eubank would be a bit more far-fetched because Eubank fights at 160 pounds. Brook has fought just once as a middleweight, and it came in a knockout loss to Gennadiy Golovkin in 2016 when Brook fractured a right eye socket in the five-round loss.
Brook quipped to Eubank Jr. on Twitter “155 otherwise don’t mention my name …” in response to Eubank’s challenge on Twitter, which read: “You fought GGG at 160 so you will do the same with me if you want the biggest payday (& beating) of your career. If not I’ve got much bigger fish to fry anyway… you don’t.”
Minutes before Brook put away Khan, Eubank Jr. talked up the idea of the fight in more detail on Sky Sports Box Office.
“Me and Kell have beef,” said Eubank Jr. “He's said a lot of things about me – he says he wants to kick my head in after this fight. I wanna fight Kell Brook after this, so I want him to win so that our fight isn't dead in the water. He has proved he has the spice, I want to see how much spice he has got with me. We have history. He is the reason I didn't fight Golovkin and I've never forgiven him for that – that was my fight. Now I want to see if Kell can do that with me. We can make that fight happen and he has already said he wants to fight me. I think I can beat him.”
Despite Brook’s demands around a catchweight, the 35-year-old appears to be open to fighting Eubank Jr.
"I am going to sit down with my family and see what they want me to do because I think I still have plenty left,” Brook said after beating Khan. “I will have talks with Eubank and see what happens. I know I am at the backend of my career but I know I can fight again once I finish enjoying this win.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com.