Porter v Brook preview

By Gavin Duthie - 08/13/2014 - Comments

porter03By Gav Duthie: This Saturday hosts one of the most intriguing fights of the year as Kell Brook looks to finally prove he is “The Special One” against Shawn “Showtime” Porter. Porter is a massive 2/5 favorite with the bookies with Brook the 2/1 outsider.

I feel that the fight is a much closer contest than that so decided to have an in-depth look at the fighters attributes to compare and contrast. The winner can look forward to huge fights against the likes of Keith Thurman, Amir Khan and even Floyd Mayweather Jr next year. 

(Amateur career)

Porter 9/10
Brook 7/10

Porter’s amateur record is an outstanding 276-14. He has wins over some very successful compatriots Daniel Jacobs, Demetrius Andrade and Edwin Rodriguez who are all fighting at higher weight classes. Despite his great success his biggest achievement was a golden gloves championship in 07 and he turned pro after missing out on the 2008 American Olympic squad. There is little to find on Brook’s amateur career other than he was a 4 nations champion but Ingle’s Gym fighters normally do turn professional quite early. 

(Workrate)

Porter 9/10
Brook 7/10

This time last year Porter was where Brook is now. He wasn’t a superstar he was considered an average prospect with a padded record and a dubious draw over ex lightweight champion Julio Diaz. The great thing about Porter was he learned from that setback. He massively upped his workrate in the second Diaz fight, was more aggressive and threw more combinations. His high workrate was the reason for his win over Alexander and knockout over Malignaggi. 

Brook never seems to get out of second gear. He holds the center of the ring, jabs and potshots. Most of the fighters in the Ingle camp have a low punch output, concentrating on accuracy. After an easy first six rounds against Carson Jones Brook struggled big time when the American upped the tempo. Brook said after the fight he showed he could dig out a win but for me he only showed he could survive. 

Porter will look to throw lots of punches and put Brook in an uncomfortable position. 

(Hand speed)

Porter 8/10
Brook 8/10

I’ve rated them the same but their hand speed is actually quite different. When Porter pushes his opponents against the ropes his combination speed is very fast. Brooks speed is more in his counter punching and his jab. Again like previous Ingle fighters like Junior Witter and Naseem Hamed they throw fast one punch hooks and uppercuts but rarely throw quick punches in bunches. 

In this department the speed favors Brook in the center of the ring but Porter on the inside. 

(Power)

Porter 7/10
Brook 8/10

I think Porter’s impressive knockout over Malignaggi was more to do with strength than power. He was able to throw huge telegraphed lead hooks because he disrespected Paulie’s ability to hurt him. Taking that win away his ko record is just above average. Julio Diaz has taken him the full 20 rounds over two fights and he fought a 10 round decision win over top 20 fighter Ray Robinson also. 

Brook has good one punch power but has again been taken the distance in most of his bigger fights. He has fought nowhere near Porter’s level and has went the scheduled distance with strong chinned fighters like Lovemore N’Dou and Matthew Hatton. 

I would be surprised if this fight ended in a knockout. 

(Jab)

Porter 8/10
Brook 9/10

Porter has a good jab but often loads up with bigger punches whereas everything for Brook leads from the jab. Brook uses it to control fights from the centre of the ring as well as his footwork. I think rather than Porter trying to out jab Brook he will look to slip inside it to land bigger shots. 

(Strength)

Porter 10/10
Brook 8/10

Strength has to be Porter’s biggest attribute at the moment. I’m a fan of Devon Alexanders skill sets but Porter just bullied him the whole fight. I think Brook is also strong, I see him moving up in weight in the future he often pushes his opponents around and refused to be bullied by the likes of Hatton and Senchenko. Saying that the edge has to go to Porter in this department and he will look to use every ounce of this to his advantage. 

(Counter punching)

Porter 8/10
Brook 9/10

Porter is quite aggressive but can often use his left hook as a counter from his opponents jab. Brook has never been someone who avoids getting hit. Even B-level opponent Robles got some decent digs in from his last fight. Brook though uses his jab to draw his opponent out and he counters very well with hooks, straight rights and uppercuts. 

(Trainer)

Porter 6/10
Brook 6/10

I think in both instances each fighter is working with a trainer that they are simply ‘comfortable’ with rather than due to any great boxing foresight. Shawn is trained by his father Kenny Porter. Shawn feels he owes his dad a great debt for teaching him the values of achieving goals with dedication. Porter cannot see how anyone else could train him better but how will Kenny react to difficulties in the ring with the emotion of it being his own son in there. 

Dominic Ingle is the heir to the Brendan Ingle stable. Due to Brendan’s ill health Dominic has been working the corner of the gym’s top talents for years. I’m not sure what type of trainer he is but he is truly awful in the corner. My favorite comment he made was to Junior Witter when he said “Think of Ali v George Foreman” as Witter was going into round 12 against Lovemore Ndou. The unique point of the Ingle gym is the family atmosphere and values, every boxer backs each other and they all learn to fight with the same style. 

I’m not confident if either trainer making any adjustments required if necessary in the ring. 

(Experience)

Porter 8/10
Brook 6/10

Despite 32 fights this is leagues above anything Brook has faced before. In saying that it was the same situation when Porter faced Devon Alexander. For the first time Porter is the genuine favorite and how he responds to that will be interesting. Brook has never faced anyone with boxing ability superior to his own but will be confident if this fight is a chess match as opposed to a brawl. 

(Chin)

Porter 8/10
Brook 8/10

It is hard to rate two guys chins who have never been stopped or even knocked down before but then have either faced punching power like they will on Saturday? Porter was happy to take shots in his last two fights but Alexander has never been considered a big puncher and Malignaggi is the weakest top level puncher in the sport. Brook was dazed by Senchenko and badly hurt by Carson Jones but he seems to have good survival instincts and knocked Senchenko down only seconds after being hurt himself. Both fighters to date seem to be able to take a punch. 

(Conclusion)

Porter 81/100
Brook 76/100

Both guys are very driven. Porter is a more jovial character whilst Brook is extremely serious but neither has seemed overawed by any occasion so far. What I do find disappointing is that both guys are talking about fights beyond Saturday night. Porter has mentioned the possibility of fighting Keith Thurman or Floyd Mayweather whilst Brook is talking up the enormity of a UK showdown with Bolton fighter Amir Khan saying it would be as big as Froch-Groves. I agree if Porter wins he would be Mayweather’s obvious choice but if he loses he is nowhere, similarly if Brook wins a Khan fight would be huge but if not then he would struggle to sell out a school gym hall never mind a football stadium. I hope both men are extremely focused on the task at hand and give 100% so the best man wins. 

Based on the stats Porter should win but boxing isn’t as simple as that. One of these areas might turn out to be vital like Brook’s jab for example. Kell’s mental strength needs to also be considered. As a Brit I would love Kell to win but I feel Porter might just be strong for him. 

Porter UD 12



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