Jessie Vargas, Kell Brook will fight in welterweight unification bout
Welterweight titleholder Jessie Vargas signed his contract for a world title unification bout against Kell Brook, Vargas manager Cameron Dunkin told ESPN.com on Tuesday.
The fight will likely be Sept. 3 -- although it could be Aug. 27 -- and will take place at Bramall Lane, an outdoor soccer stadium in Sheffield, England, Brook's hometown.
"It's really exciting," Dunkin said. "It's a great opportunity for Jessie. It's a fight think he can win. I love his attitude. He's so positive. He's training like a madman. He's really serious about getting this win. It's not just the payday. He wants to win the fight. I love the attitude. Win, lose, whatever, he's so confident in himself. I'm really proud of him."
Brook and his promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, have been on board for weeks but it took time for Vargas and Top Rank to reach an agreement with each other on their end of the deal.
The 27-year-old Vargas (27-1, 10 KOs), of Las Vegas, is a former junior welterweight titlist who won a vacant welterweight belt on March 5 in Washington, D.C., in the best performance of his career, a ninth-round knockout of then-undefeated 2008 U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali.
Vargas initially rejected the idea of going on the road to fight Brook in his hometown but eventually accepted the fight, for which he will earn a career-high payday of $1.7 million.
Brook (36-0, 25 KOs), 29, won his piece of the 147-pound crown from Shawn Porter in August 2014 in Carson, California, and he has made three defenses, knockouts of Jo Jo Dan, Frankie Gavin and Kevin Bizier, all second-tier opposition. Brook has been seeking a major fight and Vargas, a bona fide top 10 welterweight in a unification bout, fits the bill.
Top Rank and HBO are in discussions about the network carrying the fight in the United States, according Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and the network.
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