IBF World welterweight champion Kell Brook (35-0, 24 KO’s) announced this week he will be making the third defence of his title against the rugged (some would say dirty) Argentinian Diego Chaves (23-2-1, 19 KO’s) in his hometown of Sheffield, England.
The rumours beforehand of Brook taking on a range of different fighters were rife as he and his promoter Eddie Hearn scoured the welterweight scene for a top name who was willing to travel to the UK.
Timothy Bradley was a name that continuously popped up but it seems negotiations never gained any real traction. Another was Brandon Rios, who reportedly came very close to signing for the fight until Hearn and Co. insisted on a rematch clause and which gloves would be worn on the night. Silly roadblocks but they were enough to derail proceedings.
Rios has since appeared on Tha Boxing Voice’s podcast to air his complaints about how the negotiations were handled, and in a recent interview with ESnews he made a startling claim regarding how he feels Brook would fare against a recently returned ring legend.
‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley (48-9-1, 40 KO’s) made a successful return to action at the end of August when he KO’d Ricardo Mayorga in the sixth round of their middleweight contest. It was a strange affair; at one point Mayorga dropped his hands and thrust out his chin for Mosley to hit and he obliged.
In the sixth round, Mosley threw a burst of punches on the inside, and a left hook-come-uppercut caught Mayorga just above the belt line. He sank to his knees and couldn’t/wouldn’t get up.
Mosley is now on the look-out for some big names to bolster the legitimacy of his return, and Rios was asked how he feels Mosley would get on against Brook.
“I hope he gets the Kell Brook fight, I think he fucks up Kell Brook. Cuz Mosley he still can pop, he does hit hard and so far Kell Brook can only knock out guys like Gavin Rees [Frankie Gavin], who Brook last defended his title against], and not even knock him out. He can’t even knock him out he just touches them and that’s it.”
“So I think Mosley fucks him up, he is a legend he knows his tricks and he’s been in the ring so you know, I think he knocks him out.”
Funnily enough, Brook was asked about the possibility of facing Mosley on Sky Sports News when he officially announced the Chaves fight. In reply, he warned the veteran -who he admired growing up- to not let his mouth run away with him.
The fact his name is being brought up by a range of media outlets in conjunction with a reigning world champion indicates Mosley’s return against Mayorga was an unadulterated success. Who else could take two years off in their forties, come back against a guy returning from a similar absence, and start getting talked about as a possible contender again?
Rios’ assertion that Mosley would knock Brook out sounded disparaging, but if enough people begin talking about that fight as a real possibility, it could well happen. Mosley would fly to the UK in an instant for a nice payday and a return to the spotlight. Another ’Sugar’ in Ray Leonard came back when he was way past his best against Terry Norris in 1991 after a comparable time away. These things do happen, even if this one doesn’t.
