Originally posted by mathed
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Brook and promoter Eddie Hearn turned it down. Brook already has an Oct. 20 fight in his hometown of Sheffield, England scheduled against Hector Saldivia -- a fight Brook is a heavy favorite in.
Brook-Saldivia is a title eliminator that will give the winner a mandatory shot at titlist Randall Bailey (or Devon Alexander, should Alexander defeat Bailey on Oct. 20 on Showtime).
But why not take a title shot against Bradley rather than fight an eliminator first?
"The Bradley fight was put in front of me, but I believe the mandatory position in the IBF is the right move," Brook said. "Eddie [Hearn] has worked hard to get me into this position and providing I beat Saldivia, I'll be fighting for a world title at the start of 2013, and it will be on my terms. I would love that to be in Sheffield, too, and I know Eddie would do his best to get it here as it would be an amazing event."
Said Hearn, "Top Rank contacted me in August and made us an offer for the Bradley fight. It was a nice ego boost for Kell to be offered a fight of such magnitude, but we begun this journey with a goal of becoming a mandatory challenger and now we are just one win away."
Nice spin from Hearn, since Brook could have had the title shot immediately. But I get it. Brook gets to stay at home -- rather than come to the United States to face Bradley -- and faces Saldivia, which should be an easy win.
Brook can make that payday and then be in position for the title bout, where he is guaranteed at least 25 percent of the money under a potential purse bid and, as a mandatory, won't have to give up options or a rematch clause.
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