More should follow Brook’s example
Brook again displays his balls of steel as he accepts the challenge of Spence Jnr
WITHOUT question, IBF welterweight king Kell Brook is to be admired for taking on his mandatory contender, the revered Errol Spence Jnr, in May. In an era where it’s too easy to swerve a challenge, the ambitious Sheffield star is making a name for doing just the opposite.
In September last year, Brook jumped up two weight classes to challenge middleweight supremo Gennady Golovkin, unquestionably one of the most formidable fighters in boxing, in a mission many likened to a lemming leaping off a cliff. It was indeed a vault too far for the Englishman, yet some critics suggested that was precisely the point; Brook knew nobody expected him to win therefore he had nothing to lose – and, of course, he picked up a handsome payday at the end. But anyone who witnessed that contest, which was competitive early, and still questioned Kell’s courage, should perhaps step in the ring themselves to see what it feels like.
Brook, eye socket broken beneath his swollen face, was still standing when his trainer Dominic Ingle – one of the finest in the land – surrendered on his fighter’s behalf at precisely the moment it became clear that “GGG” was going to overwhelm the smaller man. And Ingle’s intervention might well have saved Brook’s career; the beating had not yet become a sustained thrashing, and did not appear the kind of defeat from which there is no return.
But, in truth, we don’t yet know how damaging those punches were. Nor can we be sure what effect stripping his body back down to 147lbs will have – after all, making the welterweight limit was a torturous process for the fighter long before he beefed up to middleweight. For many fighters in recent history, dropping back down in weight has proved disastrous; Roy Jones Jnr, Oscar De La Hoya and Sugar Ray Leonard are famous examples who claimed they would be stronger than ever after ditching mass, only for the polar opposite to be true. Yet each were older than Brook, and his team will hope that the fighter’s middleweight foray does not prove detrimental to his preparation – in a similar way that Floyd Mayweather and Pernell Whitaker coped with brief expeditions to higher ground.
What’s certain, though, is it’s a gamble. It’s commonplace for a defeated fighter, particularly considering the manner of the previously unbeaten Brook’s reverse, to ease themselves back into action, and test the water – rather than attempting a 360 straight back into the deep end. But that manoeuvre is an essential one in the mind of the champion. Brook’s IBF title – sanctioned by a body who are a stickler for the rules - means the world to him, and he knew that the only way he could keep the belt he waited so long to win, was first accept, and then repel, the challenge of the American. Yes, Brook could have claimed he was too big for the welterweights (few would have argued), and taken a tune-up at 154lbs. But in refusing to shirk Spence, Brook is putting his repuation on the line in a manner that few do these days. For Spence Jnr too, it’s a risk. Born in New York, the 27-yearold has emphatically beaten Chris Algieri and Leonard Bundu in his last two. Brook is markedly more accomplished, and will answer questions about the contender. How solid is his chin? His stamina? Can he make adjustments? For now, though, the challenger has the look of a special and dangerous fighter.
We, as fans, should also be grateful that this is another top quality matchup – rumoured to be at Bramall Lane on May 20 – in a year seemingly intent on pitching the best against the best. For boxing to thrive, it must be defined by its leaders taking on all-comers. Brook is doing exactly that and, win or lose, he will be long remembered for it.
WE DO NOT YET KNOW HOW DAMAGING GOLOVKIN’S PUNCHES WERE