By The Commissioner: There’s a myth that promulgates amongst boxing fans that’s almost as old as prize fighting itself. This myth has gone unchallenged and unsubstantiated over and over again every time it’s spoken. In the boxing gyms, bars, workplaces and fight venues worldwide it is accepted as truth and it’s theory validated by its re-use by those who put forth their argument against a fighter who they believe to have weaknesses waiting to be exposed.
The myth? That a boxers talent is intrinsically linked to the quality of their previous opposition.
Now, many people will have an opposing opinion, people will say ‘how can you judge a fighters ability if you have nothing to judge it against?’ I put to you this, a club level fighter has 10 bouts against the top 10 contenders in his weight class, he loses all 10 by first round knockout and he now has 10 names on his resume that reads like a who’s who of boxing. He’s 0-10, is he more skilled than a 25-0 fighter who has all the natural talent in the world but hasn’t fought anyone inside the top 10? Of course he isn’t.
There is a difference between talent and desire. The Cowardly Lion was still a lion, he still had all the tools that made him what he was but his fear overcame his desire to use them.
So essentially, when we judge a fighter based on the standard of their previous opponents what we are really doing subconsciously is judging their desire. For some, me included, the desire is more important than the talent. I would rather watch the club level fighter tangle with the top 10 in his division than watch the hot shot fight nobodies over and over again.
But the lack of desire to prove that their talent dominates does not equal questionable talent.
There is a reason why I started off with this statement and that’s because there’s a fight on the horizon which embodies my thoughts on the subject like no other. Two very talented fighters that are arguably both in their prime, facing off to prove who is the top dog in their weight class. The thing is, both have questionable CV’s and with not much separating them, both will have their standard of opposition brought into question when the boxing public to and fro over who will come out on top.
-
Brook vs Spence Jr
Kell Brook
30 year old switch hitter Kell ‘Special K’ Brook (36-1 25KO) turned professional in late 2004 with the Brit winning his first and so far only, world title in 2014 in a closely contested bout against rugged American Shawn Porter (24-0-1 15KO) for the IBF Welterweight crown. Up until that point the man hailing from Sheffield, England had only fought a few low level fringe contenders in the shape of Carson Jones x 2, Matthew Hatton and Vyacheslav Senchenko. Although ‘Special K’ managed a full 10 years as a professional before capturing a belt in his first world tilt, the hardcore British boxing fans always maintained that the highly technical and talented Kell was, erm…quite ‘special’. This was realised in his defeat of Porter, who at the time was building quite a reputation himself Stateside, with the Englishman travelling to the American’s backyard to prise away the strap in a scrappy but focused performance. A short while after his sojourn into the worlds elite he suffered a life threatening injury after a stabbing incident while on holiday in Tenerife, Spain. This kept him out of the ring for 6 months and must of been a difficult time for the proud new owner of the IBF title, having spent all of his career on the path to becoming a champion only to be told immediately after realising his dream that he may never be able to defend it. Fortunately the road to recovery was a short one and in early 2015 he was able to make his first title defence against an overmatched Jo Jo Dan in his hometown of Sheffield stopping the Romanian mandatory challenger at the end of the 4th round. A second defence of his title was to take place a mere 2 months later at the O2 arena in London, England against Frankie Gavin, Britains most successful amateur boxer albeit slightly green in the professional ranks. Again, an overmatched foe was dispatched with relative ease. Almost a year passed by with no activity before Kell took on another mandatory challenger in the form of Canadian Kevin Bizier, yet another C class figher who although was the IBF number one contender, was far from the class of boxer that Brook and his promoter had been mentioning as potential opponents. Predictably, Bizier was disposed of with ease. Following this defence, names such as Danny Garcia, Jesse Vargas and Keith Thurman were banded about going some way to quell criticism from the boxing public regarding recent competition.
Brook’s team entered negotiations for a unification fight with WBO adversary Jesse Vargas and all was looking promising until suddenly out of nowhere, it was announced that the IBF Welterweight Champion was jumping two weight classes to take on the fearsome and some say, avoided, unified Middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin (35-0 32KO). The bout was to be staged in London, England in front of a British partisan crowd. The general feeling amongst the hardcore fight fans was that while Kell Brook deserved a lot of respect for the desire to test himself against GGG, it was a decision that could lead to him suffering a serious injury. Boxing fans had just seen Kell’s countryman and divisional rival Amir Khan be viciously knocked unconscious against Canelo Alvarez in a move that some said inspired Brook to accept the challenge and attempt to achieve what Khan could not. Hardcore Brook fans were quietly confident that their man had the skill and defensive ability to cause a huge upset, always of the opinion that his technical ability would shine brighter as the level of opposition increased. Fight night arrived and depending on your persuasion, either view rang true. The Yorkshireman suffered a broken eye socket which caused his corner to throw in the towel with 1:52 left of the 5th round with Golovkin’s heavy blows taking their toll on the smaller man. The pro-Brook contingent would point to the heart their man displayed in fighting from round 2 with a broken orbital bone against, pound for pound, the most feared puncher in boxing. Not only that but winning a couple of rounds and throwing some fast and spiteful combinations that snapped the head of Kazak phenomenon right back, stopping him in his tracks. Whether it is right or wrong, the general boxing public gave credit to Brook for the foray into the unknown and for stepping into the ring with a man many would not.
Errol Spence Jr
The 26 year old southpaw Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr (21-0 18KO) turned professional in 2012 shortly after representing team USA at the London 2012 Olympic Games. A decorated amateur career saw him win three consecutive US national championships and eventually culminated in his exit at the quarter final stage of the men’s Welterweight boxing event at the 2012 games. Always known as a talented prospect by hardcore fight aficionados, Errol racked up a number of W’s in a relatively short space of time, fighting 8 times in 2013 alone. Undertaking his apprenticeship in the early part of his career, the level of opposition wasn’t questioned, as with every new professional, the early fights are educational and their sole purpose is to allow the novice to practice the skills they are taught in training in a competitive environment. ‘The Truth’s’ first fight of note to the casual fan would take place in 2015 against South African Chris van Heerden, an ex-IBO Welterweight Champion, at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto. The 2012 US Olympian stopped van Heerden in the 8th round, outclassing him throughout. For those who are unfamiliar with van Heerden, he was most recently seen sparring with UFC fighter Conor McGregor amid rumors the MMA star is to fight the retired and self appointed TBE Floyd Mayweather. Next on the Brooklyn natives hit list was Mexican Alejandro Barrera (27-2 18KO) for the IBF number 2 contender spot. Again, Spence outclassed his little known opponent and stopped him in the 5th.
The next step up for he American challenger came in April 2016 in the form of fellow countryman Chris Algieri (21-2 8KO), the ex kickboxer and former WBO junior Welterweight champion. Algieri had previously added two well known names to his boxing record, albeit, losing both against the Philippine phenom Manny Pacquiao and the British former Olympian Amir Khan. In these two fights Algieri proved his ruggedness, against Pacman in particular, where he was down 5 times but still managed to see the final bell. Things didn’t go quite the same against Errol Spence though, the younger man didn’t let up and eventually knocked out the helpless Algieri in front of his home crowd at the Barclays Centre in NYC, announcing his arrival on the world stage. Following the victory, Spence called out the IBF top dog Kell Brook, stating that he was now mandatory challenger for the Englishman’s title but this was not entirely accurate; following Errol’s claim the IBF released a statement confirming that a final elimator needed to take place between Errol and Russian prospect Konstantin Ponomarev (30-0, 13KO) to establish who was going to become mandatory for a title shot. According to Eddie Hearn, the promoter of Brook, Spence Jr had turned down a title shot offered to him and had no interest in taking on ‘Special K’, a claim that was refuted by Spence’s team. Before the Ponomarev fight could be agreed and signed, the Russians team informed the IBF that their boxer couldn’t participate in an eliminator due to injury. This meant team Spence had to wait to find out who the IBF would designate the slot to and finally it was announced his opponent was to be the Italian by the way of Seirra Leone Leonard Bundu. At 42 years old Bundu was the ideal opponent for the younger, faster and stronger Spence and this was proved when the two met in Brooklyn in August 2016. The fight was broadcast prime time on PBC and raked in the highest TV audience for a boxing match in over 10 years. Errol did not disappoint, forcing a stoppage in the 5th round and finally cementing his status as IBF’s number one contender. In the post fight interview Spence again reaffirmed his desire to clash with Kell Brook informing the media that he doesn’t care whether or not the British man vacates, he just wants his shot at the belt.
My Thoughts
Harking back to my original statement regarding level of opposition and its use as a barometer of talent, neither of these two guys have stand out resumes. Those that do not agree will say Brook has fought a higher standard of competitor, pointing to the fact that Porter and Golovkin in terms of quality are miles ahead of anyone Spence can pluck from his fight record. This may be true but Spence has been a professional for less than half the time and regardless of truth, the opposition does not make the man.
What I find interesting in this match up is that you have two guys that opposition fans will label as ‘over-hyped’. Perhaps both camps have a point.
In terms of Kell Brook, we’ve only really seen his talent at top level twice, the first against Porter where he showed that he can be disciplined, stick to a game plan and he is very technically astute and then against Golovkin where he showed that he possesses a decent variety of punches with enough power to keep anyone in and around his weight class at bay.
In terms of Spence Jr, we have Algieri, who in my opinion is judged as a ‘name’ based on two losses and Bundu who was never going to be mobile enough to keep Errol off of him. Both of those fights showed us that he goes in for the kill, he can finish and he has speed. Enough speed to give even the most technical of boxers a hard time.
Both fighters are super talented in their own ways and no matter the outcome of their bout, both will have the opportunity to come back into contention relatively soon.
My Prediction
Looking into my crystal ball I can see the early rounds being decided by how quickly Brook adjusts to the speed and come forward style of Spence. Bearing in mind that Kell is no slouch himself in the speed department. I believe that Kell has too much natural ability in terms of his technical boxing to allow Spence to get into a rhythm and set himself to attack.
My view of Spence is he is talented but he is still raw, he attacks when he should be taking a step back to maintain space and regroup, he has got away with it against lesser opponents but against competition of Brooks calibre it is just asking to get caught cold.
I feel that Brook will either break down and stop Spence in the later rounds or it will be a majority decision in his favor. For me, this opportunity hasn’t necessarily come too early for Errol but against the wrong opponent for him right now.
Saying that, my prediction only stands if Brook hasn’t been affected by bubbling back down to Welterweight after packing on the mass for his vacation to 160lbs. If the weight loss has an adverse affect then it’s possible we could see a Spence win inside the distance but at this moment in time I believe that as a professional athlete Brook’s team will make sure he burns the excess off in the correct way to ensure that doesn’t come into play.
Brook to win by late stoppage
Feel free to leave your thoughts and feedback. Be nice, be safe, be you.