IBF Welterweight champion Kell Brook will defend his crown against Diego Chaves on October 24 in Sheffield, England, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.
“I’m so excited about boxing in my hometown of Sheffield again. London last time out [in May] was a great experience fighting in front of nearly 20,000 but I’m excited to be back there — it is my home,” Brook said. “I’m looking to excite like I always do and light up the Motorpoint Arena on Oct. 24.”
“Chaves is a rough, tough, durable fighter who is very dangerous,” Brook said. “He’s bringing something new to the table. He’s coming off a draw to Tim Bradley, was ahead on the cards against Brandon Rios until he was disqualified and gave Keith Thurman a solid fight, so we know what level he has mixed at and how good he is.
“We know Brook is a tough fighter, very technical,” Chaves said. “He is a linear fighter, very frontal. He’s not a fast fighter. He is easily bothered by body punches, and that is one of our strengths. And I believe he has problems going backwards. We saw that in his fight against Shawn Porter. When Porter charged forward, Brook had trouble adjusting to that. But we know that he is a great fighter to face, and we are going to test his punching power too, because the opponents he chose so far have not been such great punchers as the ones I have faced lately.
“I feel that my confidence grows with this challenge, knowing that I will have to face a champion like Kell Brook in his home country in England. This raises the stakes for me, going up there as an Argentine, and as a huge underdog. We know all the bad blood that exists between Argentina and England, and this will give me much more strength. I will be making history if I defeat an Englishman in his own country.”
“It’s been a busy year so far boxing Dan in March and Gavin in May. This will be my third defense in seven months but a busy fighter is a happy fighter and I’m very happy at the moment,” Brook said. “I’m looking forward to the next challenge and I’m feeling sharp after my break.
“I’ve seen some of Chaves’ quotes and it’s interesting to see he thinks he can walk me down and overrun me. I don’t think some fighters realize how big I am and how sharp and accurate I punch and I’m looking to make a major statement against him. If he does what he promises it’s going to be one hell of a fight.”
