By Scott Gilfoid: IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook’s trainer Dominic Ingle says he can make the 147lb limit for the right fights that are considered the big ones. He says Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) doesn’t want to go through the trouble to make 147 for fights that he doesn’t consider to be big fights. There’s a purse bid scheduled for February 7 next week for the Brook vs. Errol Spence Jr. fight.
The problem is that Brook has been ordered by the International Boxing Federation to fight his mandatory challenger Errol Spence Jr. (21-0, 18 KOs). The way Ingle talks, it sounds almost as if the fight has to be considered a huge one just to get him to put in the effort to make the 147lb limit.
If that’s the attitude that Brook is going to have about being the IBF welterweight champion, then he really has no business being a world champion. He should give it up the IBF belt. You can’t just be IBF champion for the fights that you consider worthy. You’ve got to be able and willing to fight guys that you don’t want to fight.
Spence is a HUGE step up from anyone that Brook has ever faced before at 147. It’s not as if he’s a soft job. You can argue that Spence would destroy Shawn Porter, who is clearly the best fighter that Brook has ever fought at 147. Brook had to use a trick to beat Porter by holding him frequently each round to keep him from throwing punches. Brook couldn’t just fight Porter. He had to hold him to win, and even then, it was very controversial with Brook winning a fight that he appeared to lose.
While Ingle, Brook and promoter Eddie Hearn may not see the Spence fight as a big one, the fact of the matter is that if he wants to keep his IBF title, then he’s going to need to take that fight. There’s no choice in the matter. Brook was fine with defending his IBF title when he was facing Kevin Bizier, Jo Jo Dan and Frankie Gavin, and none of those were big fights, then he’s going to need to take the Spence fight if he wants to continue to call himself the IBF welterweight champion.
Ingle said this to Fighthype.com about how Brook only wants big fights at 147:
“For the right fight, he can do it,” said Ingle about Brook dropping weight to 147. “If he fights at 147, he needs a good 12 to 14 weeks in training camp. It’s a bit of a process where you’ve got to reduce your food. You’ve got to train hard. It’s difficult. For the right fight, for the motivated fight, he can do it. It’s just that he’s not a nice person to be around for the last four weeks before the fight, because he’s reducing his food. If you take food away from anybody, they’re going to be grumpy. He was comfortable at middleweight. He was on a good diet. If it’s a big fight at 147, he’ll do that. If it’s a big fight at middleweight, he’ll do that. If it’s a big fight at 154, he’ll do that. Kell Brook at this moment at time, he’s 30-years-old. It’s how long he wants to do it that far. It’s how long does he want to dig in to make that weight. He can do it. What he wants it big fights. He doesn’t want to do doing fights that don’t mean anything,” said Ingle.
Well, it sure does sound like Ingle is making excuses for Brook for why he doesn’t have to make 147 to fight Spence. If Brook doesn’t want to go through the hassle of making the weight for his fights at 147, then he needs to give up his IBF title.
It’s as simple as that. I don’t think Brook and his team wants him to be fighting someone good in his own weight class. There’s no built in excuse for Brook once he gets whipped by Errol Spence Jr. like there was when he was fighting at middleweight in his recent fight against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin on September 10. Brook was able to avoid criticism in losing that fight by a 5th round knockout, because he moved up two weigh classes to take the fight. It was a no lose fight as long as Brook gave it a good try and wasn’t seen getting knocked out in the clinical sense. Ingle helped Brook avoid an actual knockout loss by throwing in the towel when Golovkin was on the verge of knocking him out in the 5th round.
It’s obviously not convenient for Brook to be fighting a dangerous puncher like Errol Spence coming off of eye surgery for a broken eye socket, but he doesn’t have to fight him if he doesn’t feel the risk is worth it. Brook can vacate his IBF title and go and lick his wounds at 154 and look for a soft job to fight.
If Brook wants to fight a good junior middleweight, then I wish him a lot of luck, because he’ll need it. Spence is Brook’s mandatory. If he doesn’t feel up to fighting him or if he’s lost his nerve, then he needs to vacate his IBF title. I don’t think it’s going to be any better for Brook at 154 then it would be if he were to stay at 147 and fight Spence.
Brook could eat all he wants at 154, but he’s still going to have major problems when he gets inside the ring with someone good at 154 like Jermall Charlo. If Brook just wants to hide at 154, then he’ll be wasting his time. There are no soft champions for Brook to fight at 154. Liam Smith was already beaten by Canelo.
When Canelo gives up his WBO title, then Demetrius Andrade will be waiting to snatch it up. Brook would lose to Andrade if he took that fight.
If Brook loves his food that much as Ingle says, then he can vacate his IBF 147lb title and go after IBF junior middleweight champion Jermall Charlo. I’m sure the International Boxing Federation will give Brook a No.1 ranking at 154 if he asks them. Brook could then fight Jermall Charlo.
Brook would be out of his league against Charlo, who could probably do the same thing Golovkin did to him, but much worse, because he’s got better hand speed. I think Brook wouldn’t last more than one or two rounds against Jermall Charlo. But if Brook wants to eat, then he should give up his IBF 147lb title and go and fight IBF 154lb champion Jermall Charlo. I’m sure Charlo would take the Brook fight in a second.
In the same interview, Ingle went on a long rant about how Amir Khan didn’t want to fight Brook. It clearly bothers Ingle that Khan has decided to take a tune-up fight in April rather than face Brook. Ingle thinks that Khan doesn’t need a tune-up fight because he’s an experienced professional. He thinks Khan is just trying to avoid the fight with Brook.
Instead of Ingle blaming Khan for him not wanting to take the fight with Brook, he needs to focus on the task at hand. There’s no one going to save Brook from the Spence fight. He’s got to save himself by either taking that fight or vacating his IBF title to avoid it.
If Brook and his trainer don’t fancy the Spence fight at 147, then they need to give up the IBF title, and move up to 154 for the big fights in that weight class. I think Brook will find out in a real hurry that there are no big fights in the junior middleweight division. Miguel Cotto isn’t going to fight him. Other than him, Brook will be stuck dealing with guys like the Charlo brothers and Erislandy Lara. Those are very dangerous fights for Brook, and I can’t see him beating any of those three.