Brook v Spence Jr

Eddie Hearn has confirmed that Kell Brook will defend his IBF title against Errol Spence Jr. How's this one gonna go down and what does a win do for Brook? Bramall Lane is being touted as a likely venue and as a Blade I'm hoping to get to this one!

All depends on how the Brook is back at WW for me. If it takes anything out of him then he loses. But if he is back at the weight ok I think he will win on points. We know he holds a shot well, decent power and great timing so he will get to Spence. Spence looks a class act so will have his moments but home advantage gets Brook over the kind by a couple of rounds.

A few people saying his eye could be a big factor. I'm not convinced but something to be considered.

A really good fight and 2017 looks to be a great year for boxing. Hopefully more good fights to follow!!

Close, competitve and possibly contentious decision. Big advantage to Brook having it in the UK I think. That might be enough to get him the decision. Spence looks classy but hes unlikely to get any favours boxing the champion at awat from home with a big crowd behind him. And I think it would take a top drawer performance to take the judges out of play against Brook.

Think if brook can be at his best he takes this

Spence could ko him but my money would be on brook too much skill

Spence and Haymon must be pretty confident as if they'd gone to purse bids Haymon blows Hearn out of the water.

Brook fragile eye will be exposed. Spence by KO

Brook comes in for a lot of stick i think unfairly, went to america and won the title and defended it against his madatories, the IBF are usually pretty strict when it comes to fighting mandatories so he can't be criticised for the level of opponent, this fight against Spence shows he is willing to put whoever is put in front of him, he stepped up to take a beating from GGG and has shown that he is desperate to fight Khan, i think we can take a lot from khans reluctance to sign the fight with Brook.

I actually think the suggested move to 154 pounds was a bluff by Hearn and brook to make Khan think that if they fought khan wouldbe fighting a weight drained brook, i recall Haye using the same tactic to secure the Enzo fight at cruiserweight only to weigh in under the limit looking healthy, we all know what happned then.

I think Spence starts favourite. Hearn really should have insisted on VADA testing (considering Spence opted out of a WBC ranking to avoid it) but then he has other high profile fighters who aren't enrolled - so maybe it's not high on his priority list!

It's a week after the Leeds card so might be tricky to get to but I'll give it a go (it isn't often a talent like Spence travels to the UK - and I'm still kicking myself for not catching Terrence Crawford when he fought in Scotland).

Tremendous match. It doesn't get any better. Hopefully the winner can face Thurman vs Garcia. I read recently that Haymon is making a big push to unify a number of weights this year. Fingers crossed.

Can anyone explain to me why Spence starts as a favourite?

Have you seen Spence fight before?

What is it (Apart from his KO power) that makes people think he is going to beat Brook?

I don't think he has even fought a puncher yet

BoxingFan88 wrote:Can anyone explain to me why Spence starts as a favourite?

Have you seen Spence fight before?

What is it (Apart from his KO power) that makes people think he is going to beat Brook?

I don't think he has even fought a puncher yet

Agree.

Personally I think Brook wins this, especially if he makes the weight ok. If the weight is a genuine problem and he has issues leading up to the fight then maybe I give Spence more of a chance.

In saying that, if theres a bookie that wants to give me odds against on a Brook victory, I have cash at the ready

EX7EY wrote:

BoxingFan88 wrote:Can anyone explain to me why Spence starts as a favourite?

Have you seen Spence fight before?

What is it (Apart from his KO power) that makes people think he is going to beat Brook?

I don't think he has even fought a puncher yet

Agree.

Personally I think Brook wins this, especially if he makes the weight ok. If the weight is a genuine problem and he has issues leading up to the fight then maybe I give Spence more of a chance.

In saying that, if theres a bookie that wants to give me odds against on a Brook victory, I have cash at the ready

Same as me mate, if he can be anywhere near his best and the weight doesn't affect him, I think he has too much skill for Spence

BoxingFan88 wrote:Can anyone explain to me why Spence starts as a favourite?

Have you seen Spence fight before?

What is it (Apart from his KO power) that makes people think he is going to beat Brook?

I don't think he has even fought a puncher yet

Spence has looked fantastic on his way up and his reputation has been boosted with gym stories (he was the guy who apparently gave Floyd a doing in sparring).

Physically, he looks a beast, whereas Brook is coming off a traumatic loss (and is likely to struggle mightily to make 147).

Brook has fought the better opposition but that's mainly down to Shawn Porter. Aside from that, there's not a lot between Carson Jones, Bizier, Algieri and Bundu.

Spence has got skill but he's at his most effective on the front foot

His style reminds me of broner but with better movement

Think Brook can outbox him, needs to watch the body shots as Spence is a huge body puncher, but this is a big step up for him but if Brook has lost something from the GGG fight it could go pear-shaped

Hoping he wins so we get more fights as Spence is fairly young so can come back from a loss

This is the best match up in any division since Kovalev fought Ward. It's a cracking fight. Well played Kell Brook and team.

A fight to get excited about, got potential to be the fight of the year. As long as he is not effected by weight issues i fancy Brook to win by late stoppage, but Spence to give him some serious problems. Glad Brook is now moving on to a proper big fight rather than wasting his time waiting for Khan to stop talking and actually fight someone other than his family. Khan wont be stupid enough to step into the ring with a powerful WW like Brook unless its for a final big payday, i would think even he knows with his suspect mandible and Brooks timing and power it only ends one way.

I've gone completely cold on the Khan fight now. Literally not fussed about it. Khan is finished in terms of an actual career IMO. Hasn't fought for a World title since 2012 when he lost to Garcia (Im not counting the Alvarez fight as title fight because he never had a chance and it was at a catchweight anyway).

He's suffered multiple brutal knockout defeats, and looked in trouble anytime he's been hit clean. He's got speed and good boxing skills but he hasn't learnt how to box to a game plan and stick to it. He doesn't posses KO power, from Kotelnik onwards he has a whopping 21% KO ratio. He stands no chance against any of the top Welters. He won't keep Brook away for 12 rounds and can't KO him. Only one result in that fight and it's Brook by KO at some point between 8-12.

How Khan thinks he can demand 70-30 in his favour against a belt holder is beyond belief. The man is an arragant fool who has somehow managed to elevate himself into the same bracket as elite fighters, at least in his own mind.

Brook needs to focus on Spence now. Get that victory and the big money fights will present themselves. Let Khan take his inevitable loss for peanuts and fade into obscurity. Khan thinks he's giving Kell a payday, I think it's the other way around!

First up, great that this is happening. Thumbs up to brook and Hearn, the latter being something i don't do often. Really looking forward to this.

Really tough fight to call. On the one hand spence looks great, he's rolled two guys who have been in with big hitters who haven't been rolled before... a few in the game have raised eyebrows at a seeming upgrade in power, testing issues etc but moving on. Floyd has bigged him up, courtesy of tough sparring sessions for the guerrero fight... and has picked him as the future. But then he did that for Devon Alexander too.

As far as I can see, he's only really been tagged once that clearly stiffened him in an earlier fight when the bell intervened so we couldn't see how hurt he was. We don't know how he handles adversity...or a guy who brings a threatening offence to him. He certainly hasn't been matched with a banger.

He punches hard to head and body... brook has been stiffened by the odd shot at welter, but apart from one punch early in the first round against golovkin he shipped loads of leather without looking like he was going down. Unless the weight is a real issue I don't see brook folding early. I see it being who holds it together better late on. Brook has had stamina issues in the past but he has handled tough 12 rounders before. Spence is an unknown in that regard.

A lot of people see this as a stoppage fight, but I think tough points win is the % call. In whose favour? Genuinely not sure which is why I like the fight.

EX7EY wrote:

How Khan thinks he can demand 70-30 in his favour against a belt holder is beyond belief. The man is an arragant fool who has somehow managed to elevate himself into the same bracket as elite fighters, at least in his own mind.

Brook might hold a belt but that's all his advantage is over Khan. Brook's CV is pathetic. Aside from Porter and Golovkin, he's faced bum after bum in a rather lacklustre career.

Khan might've been drilled a few times but he's never ducked the big fights.

Jermaine2015 wrote:

EX7EY wrote:

How Khan thinks he can demand 70-30 in his favour against a belt holder is beyond belief. The man is an arragant fool who has somehow managed to elevate himself into the same bracket as elite fighters, at least in his own mind.

Brook might hold a belt but that's all his advantage is over Khan. Brook's CV is pathetic. Aside from Porter and Golovkin, he's faced bum after bum in a rather lacklustre career.

Khan might've been drilled a few times but he's never ducked the big fights.

Except Brook.....

BoxingFan88 wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:

EX7EY wrote:

How Khan thinks he can demand 70-30 in his favour against a belt holder is beyond belief. The man is an arragant fool who has somehow managed to elevate himself into the same bracket as elite fighters, at least in his own mind.

Brook might hold a belt but that's all his advantage is over Khan. Brook's CV is pathetic. Aside from Porter and Golovkin, he's faced bum after bum in a rather lacklustre career.

Khan might've been drilled a few times but he's never ducked the big fights.

Except Brook.....

Brook needs to earn the fight. He'd beaten one decent welterweight. Getting slaughtered by GGG doesn't entitle Brook to an easy payday

I can't argue re Brooks record, at least he is trying to push on now so we must be fair. But to be honest I don't really rate Khans either. He's had some decent wins, I can't dispute it. But if you look at his record do you see that of an elite level fighter that can demand the lions share of big purses? Because I don't.

I personally think Khan has had some bad advice throughout his career from some greedy people. I saw an interview with this Asif Vali fella that currently advises him, never seen the guy before but he clearly talks from both sides of his mouth. Team Khan are greed merchants, including the man himself. I think Khan lost interest in his boxing legacy when he got starched by Garcia. It's been all about the money ever since. Like he actually believed he had a chance against Canelo, ha. Pull the other one Amir.

Jermaine2015 wrote:

BoxingFan88 wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:

EX7EY wrote:

How Khan thinks he can demand 70-30 in his favour against a belt holder is beyond belief. The man is an arragant fool who has somehow managed to elevate himself into the same bracket as elite fighters, at least in his own mind.

Brook might hold a belt but that's all his advantage is over Khan. Brook's CV is pathetic. Aside from Porter and Golovkin, he's faced bum after bum in a rather lacklustre career.

Khan might've been drilled a few times but he's never ducked the big fights.

Except Brook.....

Brook needs to earn the fight. He'd beaten one decent welterweight. Getting slaughtered by GGG doesn't entitle Brook to an easy payday

Earn the fight? You are a very bizzare chap. He's the belt holder at the weight. What does Khan actually bring other than the name? A name that's mostly recognised due to monstorous KO's and a famous chicken dance!

EX7EY wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:

BoxingFan88 wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:

EX7EY wrote:

How Khan thinks he can demand 70-30 in his favour against a belt holder is beyond belief. The man is an arragant fool who has somehow managed to elevate himself into the same bracket as elite fighters, at least in his own mind.

Brook might hold a belt but that's all his advantage is over Khan. Brook's CV is pathetic. Aside from Porter and Golovkin, he's faced bum after bum in a rather lacklustre career.

Khan might've been drilled a few times but he's never ducked the big fights.

Except Brook.....

Brook needs to earn the fight. He'd beaten one decent welterweight. Getting slaughtered by GGG doesn't entitle Brook to an easy payday

Earn the fight? You are a very bizzare chap. He's the belt holder at the weight. What does Khan actually bring other than the name? A name that's mostly recognised due to monstorous KO's and a famous chicken dance!

Belts are pretty irrelevant in the modern era. Pac-Man is #1 at 147, the rest are merely contenders.

Jermaine2015 wrote:

EX7EY wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:

BoxingFan88 wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:

EX7EY wrote:

How Khan thinks he can demand 70-30 in his favour against a belt holder is beyond belief. The man is an arragant fool who has somehow managed to elevate himself into the same bracket as elite fighters, at least in his own mind.

Brook might hold a belt but that's all his advantage is over Khan. Brook's CV is pathetic. Aside from Porter and Golovkin, he's faced bum after bum in a rather lacklustre career.

Khan might've been drilled a few times but he's never ducked the big fights.

Except Brook.....

Brook needs to earn the fight. He'd beaten one decent welterweight. Getting slaughtered by GGG doesn't entitle Brook to an easy payday

Earn the fight? You are a very bizzare chap. He's the belt holder at the weight. What does Khan actually bring other than the name? A name that's mostly recognised due to monstorous KO's and a famous chicken dance!

Belts are pretty irrelevant in the modern era. Pac-Man is #1 at 147, the rest are merely contenders.

The division doesn't have a clear number 1 and I certainly wouldn't have said it was Pacquiao.

Khan's resume since Garcia has been woeful as well though, I mean he's only fought 6 times in 5 years....that's just not good enough especially when one of those was Molina and the other was against Average guys like diaz and Algieri who both almost beat him

Brooks resume isn't great but he's at least kept active (despite being stabbed) and Porter is head and shoulders better than anyone Khan has fought (ignore Canelo as GGG>>>Canelo)

Spence is a high risk low reward fight the exact type of fight Khan has been avoiding, he's stayed away from punchers as he knows he'll be knocked out

Jermaine2015 wrote:

BoxingFan88 wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:

EX7EY wrote:

How Khan thinks he can demand 70-30 in his favour against a belt holder is beyond belief. The man is an arragant fool who has somehow managed to elevate himself into the same bracket as elite fighters, at least in his own mind.

Brook might hold a belt but that's all his advantage is over Khan. Brook's CV is pathetic. Aside from Porter and Golovkin, he's faced bum after bum in a rather lacklustre career.

Khan might've been drilled a few times but he's never ducked the big fights.

Except Brook.....

Brook needs to earn the fight. He'd beaten one decent welterweight. Getting slaughtered by GGG doesn't entitle Brook to an easy payday

How many decent WW has Khan beaten? Maybe 1 if you add Algieri and Devon 'my eyes my eyes' Alexander together.....

TopHat24/7 wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:

BoxingFan88 wrote:

Jermaine2015 wrote:

EX7EY wrote:

How Khan thinks he can demand 70-30 in his favour against a belt holder is beyond belief. The man is an arragant fool who has somehow managed to elevate himself into the same bracket as elite fighters, at least in his own mind.

Brook might hold a belt but that's all his advantage is over Khan. Brook's CV is pathetic. Aside from Porter and Golovkin, he's faced bum after bum in a rather lacklustre career.

Khan might've been drilled a few times but he's never ducked the big fights.

Except Brook.....

Brook needs to earn the fight. He'd beaten one decent welterweight. Getting slaughtered by GGG doesn't entitle Brook to an easy payday

How many decent WW has Khan beaten? Maybe 1 if you add Algieri and Devon 'my eyes my eyes' Alexander together.....

I'm not talking about Khan's CV at welterweight. Apart from the delusional Hearn/Brook, everyone knows khan's the draw in the fight. Brook has one decent win in his entire career. Hence why he's the b side.

How is Khan the draw? I don't understand it. Because he's more well known in America?? The target audience for Brook Khan wouldn't be America though would it, so who cares?

I think Amir Khan has become almost irrelevant. He barely even fights anymore, he's a better talker and actually always has been. All the ingredients to make an excellent amateur boxer, but missing the vital ingredients as a professional - a decent chin.

I don't see how Khans the draw, he doesn't hold the title, he's beat nobody at the weight, and he got put to sleep in his last fight. Was his last fight at Welter against Algieri? Didn't really look impressive in that fight in my opinion. Khan is trying to get one last mega pay day so he's demanding silly split against Kell, if he doesn't get that he'll angle for a money fight with Manny and then retire (after waking up on his back looking at the referee).

However you look at it, Khan is just a bigger draw than Brook and as we all know in boxing it's not so much credentials but pulling power that determines purses. Brook for all his skills is just not very well known.

But who is drawn to Khan?! Lol. Does he still actually have fans??

He doesn't need fans. Enough people know him and dislike him to buy PPV. Brook on the other hand is virtually anonymous outside of boxing circles.

Best option for Brook is to get destroyed by Spence, then have a trilogy fight P4P Carson Jones. Card could be called 'Two bums no belts'

emancipator wrote:He doesn't need fans. Enough people know him and dislike him to buy PPV. Brook on the other hand is virtually anonymous outside of boxing circles.

Thing is, I don't think people dislike Khan the way they dislike Mayweathr, who's built his PPV career around that. People pay to watch Mayweather lose. I just don't people give a sh*t what happens to Khan or who he fights. They bored of him. People never got bored of Floyd. Frustrated maybe. But never bored.

Jermaine2015 wrote:Best option for Brook is to get destroyed by Spence, then have a trilogy fight P4P Carson Jones. Card could be called 'Two bums no belts'

Do you not get bored of posting the same pathetic jibes.

As for whoever said Brook is unknown, the Golovkin PPV numbers would suggest otherwise as would his numbers in general.

850k according to Fat Dan, which is a lot more than Canelo-Khan, though I'm not sure if that's PPV buys or just viewing figures..?

No need to describe yourself at the end of your posts Jermaine.

Brook had it right when he said 70/30 to the winner, if Kahn was that confident he'd have snapped it up. Really liked Kahn but think he's lost interest in a legacy now so he's gonna go for the big money, no reward fights.

Khan defintely has a higher public profile stretching back from his breakthrough during the Olympics so when it comes to financials he is in the driving seat. A 70/30 split is unreasonable though and if Brooks gets past Spence then the credibility pendulum will have swung firmly in his favour.

That might be fat dans lunch bill

This might endear Kell to the American public a bit more. Spence is highly rated over there so a win would do him the World of good

Spence making all the right noises as well, this really could be something special

Really looking forward to it!

Thing is does Khan have a "fanbase" here in the UK

It's been so long since he's fought over here.....do he have a set of hardcore fans that go to every fight

Say what you what about Brook but he has a following of real fans, he's packed out every arena he's fought in

Khan has made more because HBO purses are bigger than Sky sports purses generally speaking

The target audience for this fight is British fans and in that respect I think Brook may have a better fanbase it out necessarily being more popular

50/50 split is a fair split, and anything over 60/40 is a joke

Khan has a higher profile than Brook and is more well known both in Britain and around the world. The boost he got from the Olympics helped in that regard. This generally translates into better earning power in boxing.

But he has also been competing at a higher level than Brook for a lot longer and expanded out to make a name for himself in the U.S. Khan was fighting for and defending world titles when Brook was still taking on guys like Kevin McIntyre and Michael Jennings. Hes wasted an awful lot of time in pretty forgettable fights and as a result has spent way too long being backward step for most of the big names in the division.

For the majority of Khans career, Brook was an irrelevancy. Khan wanted the biggest names. His career was geared towards securing those fights. Brook offered nothing to further this. Its only recently that Brook has really emerged on the world stage. But I dont think Khan has ever shifted his focus from the marquee names and has never got out of the mind set that Brook is a step back.

I have generally had a soft spot for Khan because hes usually a good watch and hes think hes often misunderstood or harshly dismissed despite undeniably having an over inflated opinion of his place of belonging. But hes been mbitious and aimed for the top. He can consider himself highly unlucky not have lnded a shot against Mayweather or Pacquiao when you consider many of the opponents they have fought have no better rgument to have deserved a fight than Khan. Certainly his career has been a better ride so far than Brooks endess list of eliminators, filler fights and dud defences. So I think Khan has credit in the bank for that.

The time is right now for the Brook fight to happen though and if he gets past Spence then Khan wont have any real credible excuse not to acknowledge Brook as a valid opponent.

Can any Spence fanboys out there please explain to me why he decided to pull himself out of the WBC rankings after they listed him as 3rd?

Was it because of Vada by any chance?

Why does he have nipples that look like bullets?

Hearn is a f*****g scumbag!! He could have easily won the purse bid and demanded Vada testing, but decided not too. WTF!! A promoter letting his champ in with a guy who is juiced beyond belief!!

In a fair fight, Brook wins this by late stoppage. I hope this isn't a case of 'returning the favour' by Hearn to Haymon. Brook was gifted the win against Porter, in the US, the US ref took away 75% of Porters game, his inside fighting, letting Brook clinch all day long. Then Porter got screwed against Thurman...jeez!!.

It should really be Porter v Garcia, Brook v Spence, winners face off to see who is the man at 147.

You need to drop the constant accusations it's getting a little boring and without any basis are simply libel, back up your claims or don't spout them simple.

A promoter can't demand VADA testing, you are aware of this yes? If Hearn or indeed any promoted kicked up a fuss about with regards to it then his fighter would end up being stripped, winning a purse bid is purely for the location everything else has to be negotiated.

Brook wasn't gifted anything, he beat Porter fair and square, it was he who negated Porter's sloppy inside game not the referee.

My bad, if it's not on Sky Sports or BBC, then it must be false.

Someone has been at the coolaid.......

Dylan1979 wrote:Can any Spence fanboys out there please explain to me why he decided to pull himself out of the WBC rankings after they listed him as 3rd?

Was it because of Vada by any chance?

Why does he have nipples that look like bullets?

Hearn is a f*****g scumbag!! He could have easily won the purse bid and demanded Vada testing, but decided not too. WTF!! A promoter letting his champ in with a guy who is juiced beyond belief!!

In a fair fight, Brook wins this by late stoppage. I hope this isn't a case of 'returning the favour' by Hearn to Haymon. Brook was gifted the win against Porter, in the US, the US ref took away 75% of Porters game, his inside fighting, letting Brook clinch all day long. Then Porter got screwed against Thurman...jeez!!.

It should really be Porter v Garcia, Brook v Spence, winners face off to see who is the man at 147.

How do you know he juices and Brook doesn't?? Gynecomastia can come from puberty as well as Steroid use.

Who knows who is juicing. But the questions asked about spence are: did he have moobs before.. or are they recently acquired? Are they considered a visual 'tell' that someone has been on the juice? Why is he not keen on vada? Does his power output appear to have gone up?

Some of the above is just conjecture/opinion none of it individually does more than raise an eyebrow. Taken altogether, if you believe he has recently acquired gyno, is test dodging and has turned into Tyson then you're going to be suspicious.

I'm a bit suspicious of all fighters and have higher than average suspicions about spence, but I haven't followed his career that closely, I'm just passing on what I've read.

AdamT wrote:

Dylan1979 wrote:Can any Spence fanboys out there please explain to me why he decided to pull himself out of the WBC rankings after they listed him as 3rd?

Was it because of Vada by any chance?

Why does he have nipples that look like bullets?

Hearn is a f*****g scumbag!! He could have easily won the purse bid and demanded Vada testing, but decided not too. WTF!! A promoter letting his champ in with a guy who is juiced beyond belief!!

In a fair fight, Brook wins this by late stoppage. I hope this isn't a case of 'returning the favour' by Hearn to Haymon. Brook was gifted the win against Porter, in the US, the US ref took away 75% of Porters game, his inside fighting, letting Brook clinch all day long. Then Porter got screwed against Thurman...jeez!!.

It should really be Porter v Garcia, Brook v Spence, winners face off to see who is the man at 147.

How do you know he juices and Brook doesn't?? Gynecomastia can come from puberty as well as Steroid use.

Puberty?? He started looking like the incredible hulk in his last two fights. Before those two, he looked a hell of a lot different. Also, the traps are a dead giveaway, his last two fights he's got traps like the Rock, same as David Haye, they're both juiced beyond belief.

Dunno why ya'll keep defending blatant cheating.

I'm also guessing people on here defend the CBP too right?

The CBP is a joke!! You are not being tested if you're in the CBP.

Imo most top fighters juice. So to pick in one isn't fair until he pi55es hot.

Evander Holyfield wouldn't of beat Tyson without turning into the Hulk, yet many on here and elsewhere rate his as better.