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IBF: No optional for Alexander, must face Brook in 130 days

Phil D. Jay 
WBN Editor
Welterweight fight likely for purse bids

With an agreement unlikely between IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander and his mandatory challenger Kell Brook, the fight is almost certain to go to purse bids by the end of November.

As American Alexander is nailed on to want a home defence of the title he claimed in New York on October 20, a contest with Brook looks to have hit a dead end as his promoter Eddie Hearn reiterates his stance to stage the bout in the UK.

WBN have now been in touch with the IBF, who have confirmed that the champion has no other option but to come to an amicable outcome with Brook or face losing his title in the next four and a half months.

“They (Team Alexander) have not been given a deadline. If things go as planned the two should fight within about 135 days,” Lindsey Tucker, the IBF Championships Chairman told World Boxing News.

“The fight would then go to bids if the parties cannot come to an agreement as Brook is his mandatory and Alexander can’t fight an optional.”

Brook, 26, is hoping to stage his first world title challenge in his hometown of Sheffield, England, whilst 25 year-old Alexander clarified his position last week when stating that he plans to look for bigger fights than the Briton.

It may not necessarily mean that ‘The Great’ will relinquish his title though as Alexander knows that he would have a better bargaining tool for a shot at the likes of Pacquiao and Mayweather if he retains possession of his IBF belt.

Whether he does see his future with the title may depend entirely on if he gains home advantage for any fight with Brook. On the other hand, if Hearn can pick up the rights to stage the contest next year, that maybe the only way the St. Louis fighter would give up his newly-acquired championship.

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