Spence: Kell Brook has to fight me or vacate

By Boxing News - 05/26/2016 - Comments

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By Dan Ambrose: #2 IBF Errol Spence Jr. (20-0, 17 KOs) has no doubts in his mind that he’ll soon be the IBF mandatory challenger to IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (36-0, 25 KOs) after he takes care of #3 IBF Konstantin Ponomarev (30-0, 13 KOs) in their IBF eliminator.

The International Boxing Federation ordered the Spence vs. Ponomarev fight recently for the IBF eliminator, and Spence has no problems with taking that fight. What Spence does have a problem with is Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn, who recently said that Spence’s promoters weren’t ready to let Spence take the fight with Brook yet.

Spence says that’s not true. No one has spoken to him about taking the fight against Brook. Spence says that if Brook doesn’t face him after he becomes his mandatory, he’ll need to vacate the IBF title because he’s going to want the belt. Spence says he’ll say, “give me my belt.”

“I don’t know what Eddie Hearn is talking about. It don’t make sense to me to fight in a title eliminator, and then to turn down a fight against Kell Brook so I can fight in a title eliminator to fight Kell Brook,” said Spence to Dontae’s Boxing Nation. “I don’t know what Eddie Hearn is talking about. No one ever came to me and offered me the Kell Brook fight. They wanted the Jessie Vargas fight. They don’t want to fight me. They didn’t want that work, man. They don’t want that work at all. They’ve got to give me a shot or they’ve got to vacate. Somebodies is going to give me something. Give me my belt!” said Spence.

If Brook does choose not to fight Spence, he may have the option of vacating his IBF title and then keeping the WBO 147lb belt that he’ll likely be winning from WBO champion Jessie Vargas when they face each other in August or September. Spence sees Brook beating Vargas to capture his WBO belt, although he’s still hoping Vargas will win the fight because he’s supportive of him due to him being an American.

Brook is going in the path of the least resistance in choosing to fight Vargas rather than WBA champ Keith Thurman or WBC champion Danny Garcia. Both of those champions can bang, and Brook would have a lot more problems beating them than defeating the light hitting Vargas.

In speaking about Brook now facing WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas in August or September, Spence said, “Jessie Vargas, the only thing he can do is come forward. I think Kell Brook will win, but I want Jessie Vargas to win. He’s American. It’s UK vs. America. I’m going for Jessie Vargas,” said Spence.

Vargas is going to be at the mercy of Brook because he doesn’t have the same kind of punching power that Brook has. Vargas is just one of those guys that puts a lot of pressure on his opponents, and he wears them down slowly. This style is made to order for the likes of Brook, who prefers when his opponents come at him so that he can and his big shots.

When asked about Konstantin Ponomarev, the contender he’ll be fighting in the IBF eliminator, Spence said, “I don’t know nothing about him. Every fight is a tough fight. It don’t matter. I’m going to get that IBF belt, and then I’m going to get the other belts. I’m going to become the undisputed welterweight champion,” said Spence.

Ponomarev isn’t a big puncher, and the fight could turn out to be another Spence vs. Chris Algieri fight. Spence stopped Algieri in the 5th round last April.