Kell Brook is expected to face Brandon Rios later this summer as talk of a domestic showdown with Amir Khan is starting to bore the IBF welterweight champion.
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Brook and promoter Eddie Hearn have both suggested a meeting with Rios on August 29 is the most likely next outing, and there is a possibility that it could be held at Bramall Lane.
It comes after the 29-year-old defeated Frankie Gavin at the O2 in London on Saturday night to retain his IBF welterweight title, and now Brook is looking to kick on in the division and face some big names.
“I want big fights and I want people to take me seriously. I am world champion. I want to prove that I’m No.1 in this division,” Brook said in the post-fight press conference, according to ESPN.
“Winning the belt I thought it [the fight with Khan] would happen. It is boring. He said ‘win a world title’ but I’ve done all that and he has still not picked the phone up yet even talk about terms. I’m doing my own things.
“He must be scared, why wouldn’t he fight in an open aired arena against me for a load of money with a belt on the line?”
Hearn added that he has been left frustrated and out of ideas after failing to make a breakthrough with Khan and his team, and it appears as though that fight won’t be happening any time soon.
Nevertheless, it is important for Brook to now step up a level after two solid title defences, and face a tough opponent of his own with Rios certainly in that category as he insisted that stylistically it would be a great fight for the fans.
However, it will still be disappointing news to British fight fans who would have hoped to have seen a domestic scrap later this year instead of Khan continuing to chase a fight with Floyd Mayweather in September.
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