( C ) Kell ‘Special K’ Brook (36-1, 25 KO’s) vs. Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr (21-0, 18 KO’s)
Welterweight
It’s back to welterweight for Kell Brook. The IBF champion has successfully defended his title three times and is looking add another one to the win column. His last fight ended in a TKO stoppage loss provided by Gennady Golovkin but Brook showed tremendous heart and toughness in fighting arguably the best middleweight boxer in the world.
As our expert columnist and former champion Glenn McCrory pointed out, history doesn’t always favor the fighter dropping back down after going up in weight.
“Can Brooke still be strong at welterweight? Well history is littered with names that failed in their bid after moving up in weight to come back down to perform at there best. Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones, and Oscar De La Hoya all lost their magic dropping back down so can Brook be different?”
Brook definitely has a tough task ahead of him.
Errol Spence Jr is what Sugar Ray Leonard called “the whole package”. A fast and explosive fighter with power. ‘The Truth’ has a solid 86% knockout ratio and is on an eight fight stopping win streak. Spence Jr does nasty work close distance, hitting countless shots to the body with precision. He times his left uppercut very well and has a powerful straight left as well. He uses good head movement and patience to stay in front of his opponent. With a stiff jab like his, it’s easy start doing work from the get go. He will be looking to punish Brook with body shots and possibly outwork him. Also Spence is taller and has a three inch reach advantage which will certainly help.
It’s been well documented that Brook has had a tough camp but with the hardest part behind him, he is ready.
31-year old fighter is more experienced than his challenger and certainly more versatile. But one thing that has to be mentioned is Brook’s durance and ability to take punch. Golovkin threw bombs and Brook would not go down. It’s doubtful Spence will attack with the same force. Brook will certainly take a punch in order land a couple ones of his own. He moves around a lot more than Spence and is used to fighting on the back foot. His arsenal is much larger compared to Spence and Brook will be looking mix it up against the younger foe.
Brook has to settle into the ring immediately and establish control with his large variety of shots. He can’t wait too long because otherwise the more powerful and faster Spence Jr will steamroll him. But even if this does happen, Brook is skilled enough to fight back with devastating blows. The weightcut is the biggest factor. With Spence targeting the body most of the time, things might get tough for Brook in the later rounds. But with that being said, this will be an entertaining fight that will go to the judges.
The prediction is Errol Spence Jr via split decision.