The welterweight division is one of the most exciting in the sport today, and a very important matchup is taking place in it next weekend.
IBF champ Kell Brook puts his title on the line against the undefeated prospect Errol Spence.
Kell Brook is still a welterweight title holder, his last fight was a KO loss to the much bigger Gennady Golovkin at 160lbs where Brook had never fought before.
Now’s he’s back down to his natural weight, but Spence isn’t exactly a small welterweight himself. I hope he’s had enough time to properly recover from the GGG fight since he suffered a broken orbital bone during it.
Errol Spence Jr. is an American prospect who has a record of 21-0-0 with 18 KOs. He was a former Olympian and decorated amateur who has now arisen as the top boxer to emerge from the 2012 Olympic team. Spence is a very skilled puncher who has shown a tremendous body attack, which is one of his greatest strengths.
His best win to date has been a TKO of Chris Algeri. Algeri was previously knocked down by big punchers like Pacquiao and Provodnikov but was able to get up and go the distance. Spence being able to finish him in the 5th round made a very big statement about how dangerous this prospect is.
This fight is extremely evenly matched, almost 50/50. I’m going to have to pick Spence though, and it mostly due to Brook coming off such a damaging loss.
I give Brook all the props in the world for stepping up to bat against GGG, who was two weight classes higher, but I would honestly rather see Kell take a couple of tune up fights just to make sure he is sharp instead of jumping right back in with a dangerous up and comer like Spence.
Errol is a little more athletic, has more power, and is much more of a body puncher. I think it will end up being too much for Brook and he will lose by late TKO or unanimous decision.
The winner of this fight has quite a list of potential opponents next.
Fellow welterweight title holder Keith Thurman, Manny Pacquiao, Terence Crawford if he moves up in weight, Danny Garcia, or others.
Any of these would be good matches, and I’m excited to see who will end up putting themselves on top in this competitive division.
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