Kell Brook's next opponent has been confirmed..

[LacedUp]

They should have gotten Van Heerden to try and get Kell a "belt"
Van Heerden is probably going to be fighting in the states soon, so he'll garner some attention for the future... if he still has the belt

I wouldn't have liked to see Brook vs Van Heerden tbh. It's a tough one to promote and he would be given a helluva lot of stick for fighting a fake champion or whatever you call the IBO these days.

They'll likely try and compare and see how Brook did against Lopez compared to guys like Ortiz, Maidana and Canelo. Brook is in my opinion a lot stronger than people give credit for, but of course hasn't proven it yet. So a good win vs Lopez would set up a nice fight vs Alexander after. He's still next in line for the mandatory.

[ShoulderRoll]

Josesito hurt Maidana. He can do the same to Brook.

[Doctor_Tenma]

Lopez is coming off of a two fight losing streak, I would have waited until after the 27th

[LacedUp]

Josesito hurt Maidana. He can do the same to Brook.

He busted Ortiz jaw, the guy can hurt anyone and Brooks nose get broken a lot these days. But Brook does have a really solid chin, you'll have to give him that.

[shenmue]

Even though i rate Lopez, this is a no win situation for Brook IMO. If he wins then people will say "Lopez got stopped in his last 2 fights, was softened up by Canelo and Maidana".

If he loses people will say "Brook is finished, he is a bum, he just lost to a guy coming off 2 TKO loses"

Good fight though.

[Ezzard Charles]

What point does this prove, that he can beat a fringe contender? (hopefully)

it's not about proving a point...

it's about stepping up gradually...

he's not ready for the top 5-6 guys....

lopez is a far higher caliber of opponent than what brooke's faced, and if he's gonna make it to the top, he's a guy he has to beat.

lopez has fought ortiz, canelo, maidana.... so it's a gauge of where he's at....

[sunny31]

I don't know why everyone is picking Brook just like that, this is a tough...tough fight in my opinion. Brook has not been at this level, Joseito is a good fighter, Brook is accurate but he doesn't punch like Maidana, plus Brook likes to keep it long, and Lopez is a good fighter at distance, plus he is very busy and Brook's stamina is still a question mark. I am not saying Brook can't win, he has the tools to do the job, but I fully expect a tough fight where Brook gets through it rather than shine. I would be really surprised if he beats him in style.

[PrinceNaz88]

Happy enough with this fight, decent fight for Brook and best fighter he will have fought to date.

[wazaa.]

Finally a step up even tough the guy is barely a top 10 fighter and is on a losing streak.

Now we will finally see just how good Brook is.

[boliodogs]

It seems like he could get a better fight than that if he really wants to establish himself as one of the best welterweights in the world. Lopez is game and tough and can fight but he belongs at 140 and he lost his last two fights by KO. I think Brook will win but it won't prove much. If Lopez was coming off a good win it would be different. He has not won since Ortiz and he was losing that fight before he broke Ortiz's jaw. Lopez is like the Froch of the welterweights except that he gets KOed instead of winning. He will fight anybody.