Al Bernstein says that IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs) will be looking to make an optional title defense later this year against an opponent still to be determined. Bernstein seems to think it could be 40-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez, but that’s pure speculation on his part. Bernstein has no idea who Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn will be choosing for the fight, but if we were to go by Hearn’s track record, I would think not.
.You can’t assume that Brook is going to be able to get past Marquez. That’s a tough fight for Marquez, and Hearn might not want to take the risk in making this fight if it could potentially ruin Brook’s chances of getting a big money payday against Amir Khan, Floyd Mayweather Jr or Manny Pacquiao in 2015.