• Welterweight

Alexander 'scared' to fight Brook in Britain

Eddie Hearn says Kell Brook is ready to face Devon Alexander in the US © Frank Coppi

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Kell Brook's promoter Eddie Hearn has suggested that IBF welterweight champion Devon Alexander is too scared to fight Brook in the United Kingdom.

Brook is widely expected to fight Alexander for the IBF strap on January 19, although the venue has yet to be announced. New York and Las Vegas are the two most likely cities, with Hearn refusing to take Brook to Alexander's home town of St Louis - but the promoter has revealed that attempts to lure the American to Britain have also fallen flat.

Alexander is not a huge draw in his homeland, unlike Brook - meaning a fight in the UK could prove more lucrative for both fighters. But, despite "multiple" offers worth more than $1 million, Alexander will not consider fighting Brook on the Sheffield native's own turf.

"We've made multiple offers to Devon Alexander, all well in excess of seven figures and he didn't want to come to the UK," Hearn said, according to World Boxing News. "You get to the stage where you run the risk of winning the purse bid [if negotiations are unsuccessful] and have Devon Alexander vacating his title. Then we resort to running down the list of the IBF rankings.

"No disrespect to guys like [division contenders] Jan Zaveck and Rafal Jackiewicz but we can't get the respect we deserve winning the world title against those type of guys.

"This should be seen as a statement of intent from Kell Brook and from us in terms of where we see his career developing and what kind of fighter we believe him to be."

That leaves Brook with little choice but to go to the United States to achieve his dream of becoming a world champion - but Hearn is confident his charge is focused enough to get the job done.

"People were saying he'll never go to America to fight Alexander, but he will," Hearn said. "We've been with him for 15 months now, that's six fights. Every fight has been a learning process and a route to this moment.

"Devon Alexander has to get himself up for this fight. If it's not in a venue that has thousands of people where he has no support and then Kell Brook goes out there with an army of British fans, Kell will be up for the fight and we are very confident."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.