Brook (34-0-0, 23 KOs), who is unbeaten in 34 fights since he turned pro in 2004 has been angling a huge fight with Khan and if he wins over Gavin on Saturday, he could be on top of a shortlist for Khan’s next opponents.
Gavin (23-1-0, 13 KOs) is a southpaw and a multi-awarded amateur boxer in the lightweight division. He lost once since he turned pro in 2009.
Brook, 29, from Sheffield, England, is confident he will win and retain his IBF welterweight title against Gavin, a fellow Englishman who hails from Birmingham, West Midlands.
“Let me tell you something now. Frankie Gavin is getting nowhere near that belt,” Brook said to IFL TV. “He can see it, he can look at it. I might even let him touch it. But he’s not going to own it. That’s my belt – it’s took me a long time to get that belt and there’s no way ‘Funtime’ Frankie is taking that off me.”
Brooks is coming off a win against Jo Jo Dan last March at the Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire following one of his biggest wins against the durable former Manny Pacquiao sparring partner Shawn Porter of the U.S.
It was during the Porter fight that Books became known to the U.S. and international boxing fans as he was able to snatch Porter’s IBF welterweight title via a majority decision. It was Porter’s first loss in his pro career.
For his part, Gavin told Brooks promoter Eddie Hearns that his fighter’s overconfidence doesn’t suit him and he will be in for a surprise.
“I think he is being over confident and it doesn’t suit him. He said to Eddie at the press conference ‘He’s going to be in with the Special One’. Kell is a nice guy but it doesn’t suit him, he doesn’t have the accent for it.
“But I like Kell. After I lost to [Leonard] Bundhu [on points in August last year] he told me to dust myself down and you’ll be back. He hits hard but if I get hit I will come back with my own. I showed I can get up against Bundhu. I know I can do that now.
Gavin says he can last the distance, noting that Brooks’ staying power becomes questionable when he looked tentative and worn out against Jo Jo Dan despite his RTD win.
