Jessie Vargas Sheffield-bound to Face Kell Brook

Jessie Vargas Sheffield-bound – WBO world welterweight champion Jessie Vargas is set to travel to the United Kingdom to face IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook in a 147-pound title unification bout on September 3rd.

For Vargas (27-1) the fight will be the first defense of the belt he won this past March 5th when he stopped Sadam Ali in the 9th round of their bout for the vacant title. Reports state that Vargas is getting a lucrative deal to defend the belt against Brook in Brook’s backyard.

For the British born Brook (35-0), it marks the fourth defense of his IBF world welterweight title. Brook captured the belt back in August of 2014 when he won a strong unanimous decision over Shawn Porter in Las Vegas. Since then, Brook has had two spells of over eight months of inactivity, and the three defenses he has made have all been in the U.K. against less than top-notch competition. Brook is considered one of the top three welterweights in the world today, and he has also been linked to potential superfights, including an all-British showdown with Amir Khan, but none of those fights have materialized for him.

The fight will air on SKY pay-per-view in the United Kingdom and is expected to air on HBO in the United States. Vargas’ title win against Ali aired on HBO, while Brook has appeared on Showtime on several occasions, though his last two outings were not even aired in the U.S.A.

The WBA version of the welterweight title will be disputed on June 25th between champion Keith Thurman and the aforementioned Shawn Porter. The WBC version of the belt was vacated by Floyd Mayweather Jr. and was then won by Danny Garcia.

Brook is currently ranked the number one welterweight in the world by the respected TBRB.org and the winner of Brook versus Vargas will hold two of the four major world titles at 147 pounds.

Jessie Vargas Sheffield-bound

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