EXCLUSIVE: Injured Alexander must fight Brook or lose his world title

Devon Alexander will be forced to fight Kell Brook or relinquish his world title, Sportsmail can reveal. 

The 25-year-old was due to face Brook on February 23 in Detroit but pulled out on Monday after injuring his biceps. 

Floyd Mayweather Jnr then tweeted that he was close to agreeing a unification fight with Alexander for the IBF and WBC welterweight titles in Las Vegas on May 4. But the IBF has confirmed that Alexander will not be allowed to sidestep Brook without giving up his belt. 

Under the organisation’s rules, the champion can normally apply for an exemption from fighting his mandatory challenger, as super middleweight Carl Froch has done in order to fight Mikkel Kessler.

 But because Alexander has signed a contract to fight Sheffield-born Brook, that option is no longer open to him. The IBF also confirmed that they have not been approached by the Mayweather camp. 

The five-weight world champion, who has not fought since spending two months in prison for assault last year, tweeted last night: ‘The negotiations for my fight are almost done. The front-runner is IBF champion Devon Alexander. It’d be a unification bout at welterweight.’