Current International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight champion Kell Brook will defend his belt against Diego Chaves in a bout that will take place in Sheffield, England on Oct. 24. Such was announced today on the Matchroom Boxing website.
Brook would have faced Brandon Rios but negotiations between the two camps failed to materialize. Money and the rematch clause were reportedly the reasons behind the fight being called off. Brook then had to find someone else.
Rios, on the other hand, could be facing Timothy Bradley Jr. this coming November.
With a few big name fighters left on the table, Brook had been rumored to end up fighting Chaves even prior to the announcement confirming the latter as his next opponent.
Brook is coming off a sterling win over Frank Gavin while Chaves could be a bit rusty, seeing that his last fight in December last year against Bradley ended in a controversial way, the result being a split draw.
Chaves has been known to be a brawler, so it will be interesting to see how he and Brook could size up each other. But if there is something that Brook or his handler Eddie Hearn may want to be aware of is that this fight may not necessarily be among the big matches that could catapult Brook into the circle of big name boxers.
Recall that Brook had wanted to fight countryman Amir Khan earlier this year. Aside from the fact that he didn't want to fight someone from the same country, Khan did mention that unless Brook fights big names, he is unlikely to face him in the near future.
Khan says he is interested in the fight, but insists Brook must first prove his worth by fighting big names to place him in bigger fight purses and catch the eye as well of other boxers.
Although Chaves shouldn't be taken lightly, it seems Hearns' ploy is different. After the October match, he plans to have Brook fight again in December to satisfy his previous tweet of making four title defenses in a year.
That could be possible, but perhaps it would be better to see first how Brook fares against the Argentine brawler come October.
