Hearn: If No Khan in 48 Hours, There is Marquez/Thurman
Mar 30, 2015 • 2:09 AM ET
Kell Brook defended his IBF welterweight title in Sheffield on Saturday night and then stepped up his bid to face Amir Khan.
Sheffield's Brook thrilled his home city with a fourth-round stoppage of Romanian Jo Jo Dan, crowning his comeback from a life-threatening stabbing in Tenerife last summer.
It was Brook's first fight since beating Shawn Porter to win the world strap he had long coveted, and he left the baying crowd in little doubt as to who he wants next.
"If you're watching, come and get in this ring with me," Brook told Khan.
Promoter Eddie Hearn added that Wembley Stadium was free for the pair on June 13. Hearn is giving Khan a short deadline to get the fight together. It's unlikely it will happen, as Khan is already planning to fight in late May.
Hearn said "To be honest, three or four weeks ago we probably put a line under that fight – we’d love it to happen and we called it out but realistically we’re moving on because it’s not happening. What's the point of hanging around when he can fight Juan Manuel Marquez, Keith Thurman or Brandon Rios? He’s got the belt so he can fight whoever he wants. If Khan wants to ring me up tomorrow we’ll take the fight in a heartbeat but we have to move on and do what is right for Kell.
"We’ve been in negotiations with a number of fighters for a number of weeks now as we’ve had to move quickly but I think we’ll know for sure in the next two weeks who his next opponent will be. Marquez is particularly a massive fight and one we’d like to do outdoors – he’s expensive but it’s a massive fight and in terms of Kell’s profile he’s the one. But stylistically Rios is another one. I definitely think there is appetite for an outdoor show in Sheffield and I think Kell fancies that as well.
"We’ve still got June 13 at Wembley as a held date but unless we get a call from Khan in the next 48 hours I think that is quashed anyway. But Kell's future is so exciting. There are not many fighters in Britain who can go on and unify divisions. We’ve got some great world champions and hopefully they can go on and defend them, but now we’ve got someone who can go on, unify divisions and beat them all."
