By Scott Gilfoid: Eddie Hearn is feeling ultra-confident that Kell Brook (32-0, 22 KO’s) will bag his first big win of his long 10-year career in his title challenge against IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (24-0-1, 15 KOs) on August 16h.
Hearn thinks he has the stronger fighter and the bigger guy, and that’s why he thinks that Brook will give Porter his first defeat of his career.
Having seen Brook’s last two fights against Alvaro Robles and Vyacheslav Senchenko, I wasn’t too impressed with what I saw from Brook in those fights. He proved to be easy to hit, and not much in the way of thinking on his feet. Senchenko had Brook staggering around, and Robles was hitting him at will. Luckily for Brook that Robles wasn’t a big puncher and that he was only 5’6”, because if the guy was bigger and stronger, he might have pulled off an upset in that fight.
“I just feel like he’s going to be too big and strong for Porter,” Hearn said to Skysports.com. “I know Porter is big himself and looked devastating against Paulie Malignaggi, but I just feel like its Kell Brook’s time. I feel like he’s got so many more gears to give and levels to go, and mentally and physically he’s in such a good place. His weight is perfect.”
Hearn is going on about Brook almost the same way he was lathering up Brian Rose before his stoppage 7th round knockout loss to Demetrius Andrade last month. Hearn build up Rose to the point where he sounded like another Julian Jackson. He had made him sound invincible. But when he got in the ring against Andrade, it was painfully one-sided with Andrade treating Rose like he was a dart board for his punches. Maybe Hearn will be right this time with his estimation of Brook’s talent, but right now I’m kind of skeptical after the last time Hearn had someone walking on water.
The Brook-Porter fight will be taking place at the StubHub Center, in Carson, California, USA. This means very few Brook fans. For a fighter who has become accustomed to fighting at home his entire 10 year pro career, Brook could find himself getting unnerved from get go each time one of Porter’s head shots is cheered by the fans.
“When he [Porter] feels Kell’s power I think it’s going to be a different story and I can’t see Porter lasting the 12 rounds,” Hearn said.
Being that Brook has never shown any ability to fight inside, I think we have the makings of a massacre on August 16th unless Porter eases off the accelerator once this fight gets out of hand.
Brook is used to having his own way with the likes of Matthew Hatton, Robles, Hector Saldivia and Senchenko, but we’re talking 3rd tier opposition here, aren’t we? Beating those guys is nothing for Hearn to crow about because they’re so far off from where the top guys are at.
Going from those guys straight into a fight against Porter is going to be a really tough transition for Brook, and I can’t see him doing well at all. That’s why it’s important for promoters not to bring their fighters up on fodder their entire career, because when they put them in with their first live body, they come unglued and don’t know what to do.
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