Matchroom Boxing boss, Eddie Hearn, says that his IBF welterweight champion, Kell Brook, is unlikely to be included on the Dec. 12 ‘Bad Intentions’ bill in London.
Brook recently pulled out of his scheduled defence against Argentina’s Diego Chaves, late-doors, citing a rib injury that caused many to question it’s legitimacy in the wake of numerous unforeseen events that began when the original Sheffield card he was to box on was no longer to be aired as a PPV split with Klitschko/Fury in the UK.
This of course happened when the heavyweight clash was rescheduled because of a Klitschko injury, yet along with rumours about Brook also not being on target with his weight, many found it convenient when the notoriously hard to prove ailment afflicted him so close to the Oct. 24 date.
Coupled with the fact Hearn is still yet to announce whether or not that ‘Bad Intentions: Joshua/Whyte’ card on the 12th will be PPV or not, many thought he simply wanted to bolster that card with the addition of Brook’s world title defence against Chaves to help justify the Box Office price tag.
Something the promoter vehemently denies.
“I don’t think [Brook] will be ready. I know everyone thought [the injury] was just a move to switch him from [Oct] 24th to the 12th, but honestly, it’s not,” Hearn told iFLtv. “His rib’s still not right and we’re five weeks [out] from Saturday until Dec. 12, so it’s more likely January or February,” he added.
Of course, Hearn is now in a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation regarding Brook. If he includes him on the Dec. card, the injury will be deemed fake and add fuel to the fire of the PPV switch rumour.
Of course, without Brook, Box Office status is going to be a hard sell for a card that is headlined by a British and Commonwealth title fight, and includes no world title fights as yet.
Tony Bellew, Luke Campbell and Kevin Mitchell are all set to appear in respective match-ups on the sold-out bill from London’s O2.
Twitter @undilutedpoison
