Keith Thurman believes Kell Brook needs to prove himself 'special'

Keith Thurman rates Kell Brook highly but claims his fellow world welterweight champion needs more Americans on his résumé.

Florida's Thurman (26-0-KO22) is currently preparing to defend his WBA crown against Shawn Porter on June 25, while IBF king Brook (36-0-KO25) is in talks over a possible unification bout against WBO champion Jessie Vargas (27-1-KO10).

In Porter (26-1-1-KO16), Thurman faces a man whose sole defeat came to 'The Special One', and the American said in an interview reported on boxingscene.com: "I like Kell Brook. I like him a lot, man. I like his skill set.

Is he really special? I don't know. He's got something special. We just don't know how special.

"The thing is, he's so mysterious. Why is Kell Brook so mysterious? Because he hasn't fought American fighters. 

"We judge fighters off the fighters we know they've beaten. He's beaten one of them that we know, one I'm about to face, who's a great fighter. So obviously Kell Brook must be a great fighter.

"At the end of the day, the question is still: 'How great is he really?' They call him 'special'. How special is he? Is he really special? I don't know. He's got something special. We just don't know how special."

Assessing his compatriot Vargas, Thurman added: "Jessie Vargas, a great fight. A legit welterweight. Great résumé. Current champion. He's a worthy opponent. He's got tons of fights. He's been on the scene for a long time.

"We haven't got him [Vargas] to fight people I would like to see him fight, and that's a fight I would take as well."

Thurman had been due to face Porter earlier in the year before suffering a minor injury in a car accident.