IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook is expected to fight Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios in his next bout, but the British champion may already have his eyes on an even bigger fight--a bout with Manny Pacquiao.
Brook's trainer Dominic Ingle discussed how difficult it was motivating Brook for some of his recent bouts, most notably his fight vs. Frankie Gavin that took place on May 30. Ingle mentioned the stress of travelling to the U.S. for his title fight with Shawn Porter, then the grueling rehab he endured after being stabbed with a machete a few weeks later.
"By the time he fought Gavin he'd trained for that long that every day was like Groundhog Day and he found it difficult to get up for it mentally," Ingle said. "In the dressing room before the Gavin fight he said the 'adrenaline had not kicked in.' I suppose that was because there wasn't any fear factor."
Ingle said there would definitely be adrenaline kicking in if he's in the ring with Rios, a ferocious puncher with arguably the best chin in boxing.
"The motivation would certainly be there if the Brandon Rios fight goes ahead. Who wouldn't be up for that? It could be that if he wins then a Manny Pacquiao fight would be attached, as the same promoter looks after both those fighters," Ingle said.
Pacquiao is currently on the shelf healing from shoulder surgery that he fought with against Floyd Mayweather Jr. It's very unlikely that Pacquiao will get a rematch with Mayweather, so he will either have to seek out the top remaining welterweights, or move down in weight class and challenge top 140-pound fighters like Danny Garcia, Lucas Matthysse, or Terence Crawford.
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