• Steve Bunce

Brook too raw for Khan war

Bunce: Haye had nothing left to prove

Kell Brook picked up a solid win against Rafal Jackiewicz on Saturday by doing exactly what he was meant to do: not getting hit, not charging in and eventually wearing his opponent down. Jackiewicz went 12 rounds in a losing attempt at the IBF welterweight title in September 2009, and Brook smashed him to bits. That is a fact.

But was it the fight that prepares Brook for a rumoured battle with Andre Berto, the IBF champion? No. I don't think all of these one-sided walkovers he's had are preparation for hard, hard fights.

You can win 50 or 60 contests, but if you haven't had to fight at all, then they're no rehearsal for when you have to step up. When winning the British title, did Brook take a punch? No. Beating Michael Jennings, did he take a punch? No. Beating Lovemore N'dou, did he take a punch? Nope. Against Jackiewicz? Not even close.

Part of the reason for that is because Brook's really good - however, here's the thing: If you take on a guy like Berto, you're going to get hit.

That will be a culture shock, because Brook's not been in a fight yet. Not a criticism, a fact. And my gut feeling is that you don't want to dive in and go for a world title if there's a chance you're going to get exposed. So Brook needs to take a risk now by getting into a really tough scrap, where there's a chance he might lose - and if he does, he'll come back a better fighter. Devon Alexander has been mentioned. What about Luis Collazo if he can still make welter?

One of the guys linked to Brook is Paulie Malignaggi, who has been defeated by Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton in the past, so it will be easy to market: 'Can Brook do a better job than those two?'; something like that.

Malignaggi is fantastic - he goes into a phone booth, there's a shadow, people buy tickets because he tells them to. He will expose Brook to an American audience, because he's popular over there, and that is important for the Brit's development. But if anybody thinks Brook will learn something by fighting Malignaggi, it's time for them to switch sports and start watching tiddlywinks. It's a great commercial fight only.

And although Brook is good enough to beat WBA champion Viacheslav Senchenko tomorrow, you've got to keep your eye on the American market. That said, if Brook does get hold of the WBA strap, it gives him a great bargaining chip to take to Amir Khan, who promoter Eddie Hearn is discussing as a future opponent for his man.

Paulie Malignaggi has proved he knows what it takes to sell a fight in America © Getty Images

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If Brook doesn't hold a belt if and when negotiations start with Khan, then I reckon that he should only take the fight if there's really good money on the table.

At the moment Amir and the people that handle him would look at Kell Brook as a very easy fight. It really isn't.

Clever boxing key
Nathan Cleverly said earlier this week he'll retire if he loses to Tony Bellew - but forget about that. Frank Warren said he was going to retire if David Haye beat Enzo Maccarinelli, Frank Maloney said he would run naked through Piccadilly Circus if Oliver McCall beat Lennox Lewis. Warren's still promoting, Maloney kept his clothes on.

While I can understand what Nathan means, of course he's not going to retire - he's got to earn his living. Equally, I don't think there's any reason for him to be that confident, because it's a harder fight than people think.

Bellew is really good at making people believe he's just a mindless slugger, when actually he's a clever operator. I think he could take Cleverly to places he doesn't want to go, and the Welshman will find it hard to calm himself down in what will be a raucous, emotional atmosphere in Liverpool.

When he has to, Bellew can box sensibly. Bellew knows how good Cleverly is - and that unless he fights smart, he's going to lose.

Cleverly thinks it's a walkover, that's what makes it such a fascinating fight. Whoever stays calm is key. It's going to be all down to the fighter who keeps his head.

Steve Bunce is co-host of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption show. Click here for more details

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