By Edward Chaykovsky
IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (36-1, 25KOs) is pretty confident that unbeaten Olympian Errol Spence (21-0, 18KOs) will have to fly out to the UK to face him.
Spence is the mandatory challenger to Brook's world title. Back in 2014, Brook was in the same exact position. He was the mandatory challenger to Shawn Porter. After Porter's manager/adviser, Al Haymon, won the purse bid - Brook was forced to fly to the United States to face Porter at the StubHub Center in Los Angeles, California.
Brook still came out on top, securing the world title with a close twelve round decision win.
Brook is almost fully recovered from a fractured orbital bone that was suffered in his September TKO loss to IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin. Brook moved up by thirteen pounds and two full weight divisions to take that fight.
In recent days, Brook announced that he has no intention of vacating his world title or avoiding the mandatory defense to Spence. He feels confident that this time around, promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport will win the purse bid and drag Spence over to hostile territory - where Brook will have an army of fans to support him.
"[Spence] has to earn his stripes. I had to go over there to earn the title from Porter. He has to come over here to get this title off me. If they do win the purse bid, I'm willing to go over there. I'm a champion. I'm willing to fight anywhere to defend what's rightfully mine," Brook told IFL TV.
"This is the boxing game. And if we win the bid, which I'm pretty sure we will, he has to come over here. He has to come to England and he has to go [back home] with his tail between his legs without that belt."
