by Geoffrey Ciani (Interviewed by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) – This week’s 111th edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with undefeated welterweight contender Kell Brook (23-0, 16 KOs). Kell spoke about his career and touched on a variety of topics including Amir Khan, Carl Froch, David Haye, Manny Pacquiao, and more! Here is a complete transcript of that interview:
JENNA J: It is time for our first guest of this week’s show. He is a ranked contender in the welterweight division, he’s ranked number one by the WBO. We are joined by Kell Brook. How’s it going today, Kell?
KELL BROOK: Yeah, I’m very well, very well. Thank you.
JENNA: Good to hear. Now you’ve been a man that’s been in the news of late. You’ve been calling out your fellow British fighter Amir Khan. What was that all about and did you really want to face the 140 pound champion?
BROOK: Yeah, I’d love to fight Amir Khan. He’s coming back to Britain to fight and then I hear he actually wants to fight Floyd Mayweather at welterweight. So if he wants to fight Floyd Mayweather and he is fighting in Britain, I believe that I’m the best welterweight in Britain and I think he should come and see me before he starts looking at Mayweather.
JENNA: Now Amir Khan actually had a lot of trouble securing an opponent for his next fight before the McCloskey bout was announced. Why do you think that fight took so long to be finalized and do you think you would have trouble working out a deal to fight Amir if that fight was a possibility?
BROOK: I hear that they’re asking him for too much money. I said to Amir Khan, because I believe I would knock him out if we did fight, I said, ‘You pay me what you think I’m worth’ because I know once I’ve beaten Amir Khan I know that I’m going to go on to bigger and better things and obviously the money will go up. Obviously I’d fight against him for a bag of peanuts knowing that I will have a big fight after that, because I really do believe that I would knock Amir Khan out. I’m the best welterweight in Britain and he’s on about fighting at welterweight. I hear he’s struggling to make light welterweight so this is a perfect fight for him. It would be huge so it makes sense.
JENNA: Now you said you would knock him out. In his last bout he was put to the test against Marcos Maidana. What did you think of that fight and what do you think of Amir Khan as a fighter?
BROOK: Yeah, obviously Amir Khan is a great, great fighter and he did unbelievably and it was very good to watch, the Maidana fight. I just think with Maidana, if that were me I believe in the tenth round, I still see Amir Khan saying that’s got a chin now. I still believe his chin is suspect. He got caught with a big shot. Maybe, maybe not, it could have been stopped in the tenth round. I know that if I would have been in there with him in the tenth he wouldn’t have been getting away
JENNA: Now besides yourself calling him out, a man that’s already beaten Amir Khan has been calling him out of late, too—Breidis Prescott. Do you think there is any point in that rematch happening?
BROOK: No, I don’t think it would be exciting. Prescott’s been beaten by Kevin Mitchell and others. He does not excite the public. It’s not a fight that I’d want to see again. I believe that probably that Khan would beat Prescott. Again, it’s not as exciting as it should sound by Prescott when he knocked Khan out. I don’t think that’s the right fight for the public.
JENNA: Alright Kell, let’s talking about yourself a little bit. You’re currently competing in the welterweight division, and that particular division only has two big names. It has Manny Pacquiao and it has Floyd Mayweather Junior, but besides that it is a void of another young upcoming talent that people really look at as the next star of the sport. Do you think you could be that guy?
BROOK: I do. Yeah, I do. There are things that I need. I believe that when I get my shot I’ll dominate and after that the next won’t come on through.
JENNA: Well Kell, we’re also joined by my co-host Geoff.
GEOFFREY CIANI: Hi Kell, it’s a pleasure to have you on the show.
BROOK: Hi.
CIANI: Kell, I was wondering if you could tell our fans out there a little bit about how you first got involved with boxing?
BROOK: Well when I was nine years of age, I was quite a malpracticed kid and my mum and dad did they best they could to handle it. I used to get into Bruce Lee films. I used to love watching them and I would try around the house, so my dad took my down to the gym. I went in there and I had seen Prince Naseem when he was coming through. I remember being a young kid wide-eyes and just mesmerized with what I was seeing in this gym. It brought me some good balance and from that day onwards I’ve been in love with it.
CIANI: Now what aspect of your game do you think is one of your best positives that most surprised your opponents once they’re inside the ring with you?
BROOK: I just think that when I’m in that ring I just feel that I have cat-like reactions. I can anticipate what my opponent’s going to do before he’s going to do it. I just feel that I can pick apart an opponent and I can plant a shot with accuracy, and speed, and angles. I just think I’ve got that like burst of speed in the ring.
CIANI: Now Kell, one of our former guests is Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch. Going back to Amir Khan for a minute, when I asked him if he thought that Khan had made improvements under Roach, he actually said that he didn’t think Amir improved that much under Roach and I’m curious if you think that you’ve seen improvements in Amir Khan since he teamed up with Freddie Roach?
BROOK: Yeah, I think I stand with Froch. I mean obviously I think that he has improved and I would probably think that going in there with the world class sparring he has been having with Manny Pacquiao and the rest of the guys he’s been having in the gym. But apart from that, obviously from what I have seen in his last fight he’s still a bit amateurish for a fighter with his face shots and like his fast shots as an amateur, like he always does with his sparring and he’s landing all the time. Yeah, he has improved a bit. Yes.
CIANI: Sticking with ‘The Cobra’ for a minute, I’m curious what you think of your fellow British fighter and what do you think of his chances in the super middleweight tournament?
BROOK: I think Carl Froch is an awesome fighter. He’s a very, very good fighter. I don’t think he has the recognition he should have. I think that he’s going to win this competition and then add more respect that way.
JENNA: Now Kell, touching back a little bit on your career, back in 2009 you became the outright winner of the Lonsdale Belt, the British Welterweight Championship. What does it mean to you to get that distinction?
BROOK: Well I remember that night very clearly where it was one of the highlights of my career. Winning that Lonsdale Belt in Britain, every single fighter wants that belt. It’s the prettiest belt you could ever wish to see. So winning that, I just knew that my chance came. I was on television first time at the top of the bill. That’s why I remember it like it was yesterday. Then putting on that performance and winning the belt was remarkable.
JENNA: Alright now some people say that your biggest win is against former title challenger Michael Jennings. How did it feel to you to take on someone of that caliber and to beat him as easily as you did?
BROOK: I have been professional since I was 18 and Michael Jennings had always been at the top in Britain. I used to watch him when I was younger wishing that I want to get to that level. This day came, and he’s always been at the top, Michael Jennings. He was an elite fighter and I have come of age now, and it was my time to shine and my time to take over. I believe the fight didn’t live up to expectations and that he didn’t really come to win the fight. I believe that he probably had a game plan that I think was fitting for him but for the viewers it wasn’t that good because I wanted to fight and he was always on the back foot and it didn’t really look that good on television, but I got the win and that’s the main thing.
JENNA: Okay, now let’s switch it to the division you compete in at welterweight. What are your thoughts on boxing’s biggest star Manny Pacquiao?
BROOK: I think he’s an awesome, awesome fighter. He’s unbelievable and every time I see him fight I think that he can’t box any better than this, and then he boxes again and he boxes even better than before. He’s unbelievable. The fight with Margarito was unbelievable to watch. I think it was the Fight of the Year and it didn’t win. It should be. It was definitely the Fight of the Year. He’s an unbelievable fighter.
JENNA: Now Kell, Pacquiao actually has a fight coming up in May against Sugar Shane Mosley. How do you see his chances in that bout?
BROOK: I think his work rate and coming forward to Mosley, he’s not getting any younger Mosley. He’s been in a lot of hard fights. He hasn’t looked that good in his last couple of fights and I believe that he can do a better job on him than Mayweather did. I believe that he can get the stoppage later on.
JENNA: Alright now you originally mentioned Mayweather there. Amir Khan has been mentioning Mayweather and fighting him at 147. Do you think he would fare any chance at all competing against somebody of that class?
BROOK: Not a chance at all; not a chance. It would be a complete wipeout.
JENNA: Why do you think he doesn’t have any chance at all?
BROOK: I just think Mayweather is a master fighter. He’s so technical and he’s impeccable. He’s a very, very, very good fighter. I don’t believe that Amir Khan can damage him or get through to him in any way.
CIANI: One of the questions I like to ask the guests on our show is the story behind how they first started using their nickname and I was wondering if you could tell our fans out there how it was you first came to use the moniker ‘Kid’?
BROOK: I don’t know. I think it was obviously in the gym. I think they always said I had that cute little kiddie face. I don’t know. I expect it to have come from Dominique and Jonah Engle at the gym and it just stuck. But there happens to be a new name now, and it’s ‘Special K’ I’ve got.
CIIANI: And how did that one come to be?
BROOK: I think Frank Tucket came up with it and then they put it on a poster like ‘Special-K’, not Kellogg’s. And they put the special Kell in it and there in Britain, that’s how people relate to me, as ‘Special-K’.
CIANI: Kell, I wanted to change things up a little bit and I wanted to get your opinions on another fellow countryman of yours who is often in the headlines, and that’s David Haye. I’m curious, what do you think of him as a champion and what do you thought of his most recent fight against Audley Harrison?
BROOK: I think David Haye as a heavyweight is brilliant. I think that he’s got the body and he’s a good-looking guy, and he throws haymakers like his nickname. He’s exciting to watch. People know that when he gets tired that he can be hurt and he also can punch himself, so he is very, very good to watch. I enjoy watching him and he’s not boring like these fat heavyweights. He comes with flare and style. He brings that into the ring.
CIANI: Now another heavyweight, the fight that a lot of fans were hoping to see was a fight between David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko in the heavyweight division, but instead we’re going to get Klitschko versus Dereck Chisora. I’m curious do you give Chisora any chance in this one?
BROOK: Believe it or not, a lot of people are writing Chisora off, but I talked to Chisora and I can see in his eyes that he’s not going over there to take a payday. In his mind he’s winning the fight. I think that he can shoot some big shots and knock him out. He’s been knocked out before. I believe that the only way he probably could beat him is by knocking him out, and I believe he possible could.
JENNA: Well Kell, we have just a few more questions before we let you off the line, and I’m curious, when you first started in the sport who were some of the fighters that you looked up to and idolized when you started in this game?
BROOK: When I was younger I just had one fighter who I idolized more than anyone and that was Prince Naseem and I idolized him all the way until I started coming of age, and then I was looking at your Roy Jones Junior, and then Floyd Mayweather, and Bernard Hopkins, and James Toney, them sort of fighters.
JENNA: Alright now Kell, what is your plan for the immediate future? If you are (add word “not”—although it sounds almost like you said “unable”—I’m not sure—I’m just transcribing for now so you can get the point and we can revisit this) able to get a fight with Amir Khan when do you see yourself returning into the ring?
BROOK: Well if we get that fight with Amir Khan, that’s scheduled for the 16th of April. So that would be the day if that came up. If not, I’m pushing for a world title definitely this year and you just have to take it one fight at a time. You know I just want to get in there and please the fans and have a good fight and enjoy it.
JENNA: Now you’ve mentioned a few times you’d like to face Amir Khan at some point. Is there anything else you’d like to add about that potential fight?
BROOK: He knows where I am. He knows how to get in contact with me. It’s a fight the public wants to see and we need to get that fight on so the British public and the paying public want to see the fight and I want the fight so let’s do it. He said that before that he used to beat me up in sparring he’s been saying to the press. If it was so easy for him, why not get in the ring and get a good pay day for beating me up again if it’s as easy as he says.
JENNA: I have one final question. Is there anything you want to say to all your fans and the listeners of On the Ropes Boxing Radio?
BROOK: I just want to say to my fans to keep tuning in. It’s just a matter of time before I break on the big scene. I just feel that I can inspire young fighters to look up to my style and maybe one day want to fight like me. I just want to please the fans and give them what they deserve.
JENNA: Alright Kell, it’s been an absolute pleasure speaking to you today. We wish you all the best of luck in the future and we look forward to seeing you in the ring.
BROOK: Thanks a lot. Thanks.
CIANI: Thanks, Kell. Good luck.
BROOK: Thanks.
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For those interested in listening to the Kell Brook interview in its entirety, it begins approximately fifteen minutes into the program.
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