Saturday 9 July 2016 14:09, UK
Kell Brook needed just two days of negotiations to overtake Chris Eubank Jr in the race to fight Gennady Golovkin, the Kazakh's promoter has said.
British champion Eubank Jr was expected to meet Golovkin but weeks of contract talks didn't result in an agreement, allowing Brook to jump the queue.
Tom Loeffler, Golovkin's representative, has revealed that Brook didn't think twice about accepting the identical deal that had been offered to Eubank Jr weeks prior.
Loeffler exclusively told Sky Sports: "We thought the Eubank Jr fight was going to happen but, last Wednesday, [Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn] called me and said there's problems.
"That's when he suggested he would call Brook, to see if he would be interested in the fight.
"Brook agreed to the fight verbally, and we had the deal done within two days with the same deal that [Hearn] offered to Eubank Jr.
We got the deal done in two days with Brook for the same arena, the same date, same Sky Sports Box Office. Brook wanted to fight.
"We got the deal done in two days with Brook for the same arena, the same date, same Sky Sports Box Office. Brook wanted to fight - he knows it's the biggest fight of his career."
Asked whether he believed Eubank Jr was intentionally pricing himself out of an agreement, Loeffler said: "That's really a question for Eddie, who was involved in the internal discussions with Eubank.
"But it's a lot easier when both fighters want to make a fight.
"It's one thing being vocal, and talking about fighting someone. If you really want to fight, you do what you can to make the fight."
Brook, the IBF welterweight champion, has never boxed for a title above 147lbs but will jump two weight divisions to challenge for Golovkin's WBA Super, WBC and IBF middleweight titles.
But Loeffler has insisted that the assumption Golovkin will have a size advantage is not true.
"It's not as big a physical difference as people think - Brook is a huge welterweight and Gennady is a small middleweight," he said.
"If you see them standing next to each other, Brook is 5ft 9in and Gennady is 5ft 10in. It's Brook's speed and experience against Gennady's power.
"Give Brook a lot of credit for stepping up. It's a huge opportunity for him - and a huge opportunity for Gennady too."
The Eubanks declined to comment when contacted by Sky Sports.
Kell Brook will challenge for Gennady Golovkin's world middleweight titles on September 10 at London's 02 Arena, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
