Special One cannot afford a slip-up in Sheffield
Thursday 26 March 2015 16:21, UK
Kell Brook could face the winner of Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao, but first he must defend his IBF belt against Jo Jo Dan, says Johnny Nelson.
Kell Brook could be one win away from a fight with Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao. You never know. Afterwards, the winner of either Floyd or Manny – if there isn’t a rematch – is going to look Kell’s way. They will want to get a fight on.
I don't think Amir Khan will be their first choice. In this situation he’s too dangerous for his own good. I’m not saying that Amir beats them hands down, but he does make life hard for them.
Kell could actually find himself in a situation where he’s considered.
I heard a story that Kell went out to Floyd Mayweather’s gym and sat three rows back, watching the sparring. One of Floyd’s team saw and told Kell that Floyd wanted him to sit at the front. His trainer Dominic Ingle said: “No, we’ll stay at the back thank you very much.”
They were happy to stay where they were and Floyd was sparring, looking to see where Kell was, almost as if to say: “Look what I can do.”
After three rounds, Kell and Dominic got up and walked out of the gym. They said the look on Floyd’s face was a picture. They had turned up to watch Floyd spar and then walked out. That’s mind games.
Kell can go as far as he wants to go. In the gym, I’ve seen what he can do when he’s on form. An on-form Brook should make easy work of Saturday night. An on-form Brook should make easy work of a lot of fighters in his division. But we’ve seen Kell when he’s not at his best, and he nearly slipped up.
Mentally, it’s about how he’s managed to balance all the issues, the injury and the pressure of becoming the champion. Those are the question marks here.
Kell should do the job, but these are the factors for him to drive through.
Watch Brook v Dan live on Sky Sports 1 from 7.30pm on Saturday. The bill also features Frankie Gavin, Adam Etches and Gavin McDonnell.
