Kell Brook to fight in February

10/07/2014 Bill Phanco

IBF welterweight belt holder Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs) has targeted February for his next fight date against an opponent still to be determined. Brook was stabbed last September while on holiday in Tenerife, and he’ll be coming back from that injury. Brook wants to fight either Floyd Mayweather Jr or Amir Khan, but those opponents will probably not be in the cards for the 28-year-old Brook.

We’ll likely see Brook facing one of the names that his promoter Eddie Hearn was previously mentioning for him to fight on December 6th before Brook was stabbed and unable to fight on that date. Hearn was talking about matching Brook against a fighter that Americans would recognize like Brandon Rios, Andre Berto or Josesito Lopez.

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Malignaggi, Mayweather/Pacquiao, Thurman/Kahn, & Danny Garcia!

10/02/201410/01/2014 Vivek Wallace

Austin E. (Charlotte, NC): Paulie Malignaggi was recently quoted saying that he feels Thurman and Khan both have enough in their arsenal to defeat Mayweather and Pacquaio. I was curious to hear your thoughts on his words and whether or not you find them true?

Vivek W. (ESB): Malignaggi is one of those guys who has earned my respect both in and outside of the ring. Despite his limited power, I always viewed him as a fighter who had a very strong grip on the fundamental element of boxing. Listening to him in the role of commentator, I think his words solidify that position, as I think he’s a complete natural at breaking it all down. Few have done a better job than Paulie behind the mic, as it relates to articulating how certain fighters need to go about execution to gain victory in a given match. I think this is the first time I totally questioned his logic, but in all truthfulness, I can’t say that he’s wrong, either.

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Is Mayweather more at risk against Khan and Thurman rather than Pacquiao?

09/29/2014 Rob Smith

While many boxing fans believe that Manny Pacquiao presents the biggest risk to the unbeaten record of Floyd Mayweather Jr, Paulie Malignaggi is under the belief that Pacquiao would be an easy fight for Mayweather at this stage in Pacquiao’s career. Malignaggi doesn’t say why he believes that but it could have something to do with how poor Pacquiao looked in his last fight against a quality fighter in Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.

Pacquiao looked terrible in that fight before getting knocked out in the 6th round. Since then, Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has eased him back in terms of competition by putting him in with Brandon Rios and Tim Bradley, and Pacquiao was able to resume winning again.

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Khan could be next for Mayweather, says Floyd Sr

09/22/2014 Jeff Sorby

If trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr knows what he’s talking about, we could see former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan sharing the ring with WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr next May on Cinco de Mayo at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Floyd Sr, who is generally quite blunt in his opinions, said that the 28-year-old Khan is No.1 on the list for Mayweather’s next fight.

“More than likely it won’t be Pacquiao. I would say Amir Khan is No.1 on the list, but that’s still not even permanent,” Floyd Sr. told Hit First Boxing. “There’s still a few other fighters out there. I can’t say who’s permanent unless they ask for it.”

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Khan: My interest in fighting Mayweather has nothing to do with money

09/16/201409/15/2014 Bill Phanco

In the past week, former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) has ratcheted up the pressure on WBA/WBC 147lb champion Floyd Mayweather Jr in his efforts to try and get a fight against the superstar fighter.

Khan has been quite interested in getting a fight against Mayweather for years now, but he’s now highly interested after seeing his recent fight against Marcos Maidana last Saturday night.

Khan says Mayweather has slowed and no longer looks like the fighter he once was earlier in his career. Khan feels that he’s now beatable for him if he can only get Mayweather to say yes to a fight with him.

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Khan: Mayweather’s age is getting to him

09/14/201409/14/2014 Bill Phanco

(Photo credit: Idris Erba/Mayweather Promotions) Amir Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) is hoping to get a fight against WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) next year in May of 2015 in what would be the biggest fight by far of Khan’s career.

While you can make an argument that Khan hardly deserves a fight against Mayweather at this point in his career, given the less dangerous opposition that Khan has been fed by his adviser Al Haymon and his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions in his last three fights, he still likely is the biggest payday Mayweather can get outside of a fight against Manny Pacquiao.

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Roach: Mayweather’s legs are shot, Khan beats him now

09/13/2014 Rob Smith

Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach thinks WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (46-0, 26 KOs) has deteriorated to the point where now even Amir Khan can beat him. Roach is saying this week that Khan’s speed would be too much for the 37-year-old Mayweather now.

Roach thinks that Mayweather can no longer move around the ring like he once did, even though he showed excellent movement a year ago in defeating Saul “Canelo” Alvarez by a 12 round decision in one of Mayweather’s biggest wins of his career.

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Hearn wants Khan-Brook in April or May 2015, then winner faces Mayweather

08/23/201408/23/2014 Bill Phanco

IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport believes that a fight between Brook and British boxing start Amir Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) is possible for April or May of 2015 with the winner then moving on to face WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (46-0, 26 KOs) later on in 2015 in a unification match.

It sounds like a reasonably good idea except that if Brook wins the fight over Khan, Mayweather would then be facing Brook, a fighter with a name that doesn’t resonate with casual boxing fans. It would be similar to Mayweather facing Chris Algeri.

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Mayweather hopes Khan fight will happen in 2015

08/22/2014 T.Baker

WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (46-0, 26 KOs) says a fight between him and former IBF/WBA 140 pound champion Amir Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) can take place next year. In fact, Mayweather is hoping that a fight between them can take place in 2015, because he would like that. However, at the same time he wants his opponents to prove that they rate a fight against him by taking on quality opposition.

This no doubt is a case where Mayweather is taking a shot at Khan for the three soft fights he’s taken since his back to back losses to Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson a couple of years ago.

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Hearn wants to schedule Brook-Khan fight for the summer in 2015

08/23/201408/22/2014 Bill Phanco

IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn says that former IBF/WBA 140 pound champion Amir Khan (29-3, 19 KOs) is interested in facing Brook next year. Hearn says he wants to schedule the Brook vs. Khan fight next summer in 2015, and possibly stage at Wembley Stadium.

If that’s the case, Brook will have a chance to defend his title 1-2 times before he faces Khan. Hearn once again is saying that Khan-Brook will be as big as the Carl Froch vs. George Groves 2 fight that took place last May at Wembley Stadium in London. Hearn thinks it will sell out the 80,000 seat stadium.

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