Canadian hopefuls earn fighting chances
Earlier this month U.K.-based boxing power broker Eddie Hearn emailed local promoter Tyler Buxton hoping to set up a fight, and in less than two hours they had finalized a deal. On July 28 in London, English star Kell Brook will face Ajax native Brandon Cook for the right to fight for a world title.
Hearn had a similarly smooth negotiation with Toronto promoter Lee Baxter in arranging a bout announced Thursday morning — a Sept. 8 showdown in Birmingham between English standout Amir Khan and Toronto welterweight Sam Vargas.
The long-term goal for Hearn is a high-profile, big-money clash between Brook and Khan later this year, but maximizing that fight’s potential means tuneup bouts to showcase the protagonists and build buzz among fans.
That setup creates short-term opportunities for Cook and Vargas, underdogs eager for big paydays and career-defining wins over marquee names.
“I’m not just coming to get paid; I want to win the fight and get the world title shot I’ve always dreamed of,” said Cook, who is 20-1 as a pro, after a midweek workout at the Ajax Boxing Club. “We’re this close. All I gotta do is knock him out.”
While Cook and Vargas are both long-shots in their upcoming bouts, they’re also beneficiaries of boxing’s changing economics.
Last month, sports streaming service DAZN announced an eight-year, $1-billion (U.S.) distribution deal with Hearn’s promotional company, Matchroom Boxing. That cash gives Hearn leverage over even U.S.based rivals. Hearn-promoted heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua refuses to commit to a bout with American Deontay Wilder largely because his popularity and financial backing allow him to accept that fight on his terms.
And money lends Hearn the clout to attract boxers such as Cook and Vargas — local standouts with world-class aspirations — to England for highrisk, high-reward fights against Matchroom fighters.
“This fight is the biggest in my career,” Vargas said at a news conference in Birmingham. “I know what it’s like to be on the B-side. It’s sh---y.”
In the de facto tournament Hearn is setting up, the 32-yearold Brook functions as the top seed. The Sheffield native is 37-2, but has only lost to the sport’s pound-for-pound elite. In 2016, he was knocked out after jumping two weight classes to face middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin, and last year lost to welterweight champion Errol Spence via 11thround TKO.
“He’s still legit. He’s still dangerous,” Buxton said. “There’s a step up. A-plus guys are better than A (level) guys.”
Cook was undefeated last September when he travelled to Kazakhstan for a regional title bout against 2008 Olympian Kanat Islam, but was stopped in the ninth round. He has since won a pair of rebound bouts, but realizes Brook presents the stiffest challenge of his sevenyear pro career.
“He’s the best in the world. I’ve watched him for years,” said Cook, 32. “But he’s like any other person. If he gets hit with the right punch, I don’t care who you are — you’re going down.”
Vargas, meanwhile, has faced super-elite competition before — Spence stopped him in four rounds in 2015, and American Danny Garcia scored a seventhround TKO over him in late 2016.
But Vargas says he sees weaknesses in Khan, who has 33 wins but has suffered knockouts in three of his four losses. In May 2016, super welterweight champ Saul (Canelo) Alvarez knocked Khan out cold with a single right hand, and Khan’s pro loss was a oneround demolition by Colombian contender Breidis Prescott in 2008.
“This is my time, really,” Vargas said. “I’ve been counted out before, but I have the experience now… I’m going to do what Breidis Prescott did.”