By Peter Silkov
Boxing
has been threatening to make a comeback to credibility recently with
some genuinely well matched big fights. Most recent of these was
Anthony Joshua’s war with Wladimir Klitschko. Tomorrow we have the
latest of what has been a series of encouraging matchups, both here,
and abroad. Top of the bill, at the Bramall Lane Football Ground, in
Sheffield, England. Kell Brook (36-1, 25koes) takes on his number one
challenger, the undefeated Errol Spence Jr.(21-0, 18koes) in what
will be the 4th
defence of his IBF world welterweight championship. It will also be
Brook’s first outing in the ring since his brave, but ultimately
losing effort against world middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin,
last September. In that match, Brook won praise for his bravery
after being one of the few challengers to actively take the fight to
the fearsome Golovkin. Yet, his bravery had a price, and he was
eventually pulled out of the fight, battered and bloody, and with a
broken right eye socket that required delicate surgery. One of the
biggest questions ahead of his fight with Spence Jr. is how much of a
mark has the Golovkin fight left upon Brook. Although we have been
told that the eye injury has been repaired and is as good as new
(albeit now with a titanium plate) there always has to be a question
mark over a fighter when he is coming back from such a serious
injury. The biggest question will be is the eye vulnerable to being
re-injured, plus how will Brook react if the eye is injured again,
even if only moderately. In facing Spence Jr., Brook is taking on one
of the best prospects in boxing, a fighter who has had big things
predicted for him. Spence has a similar box-fighting style to Brook,
and the two should produce an interesting and exciting match. The
biggest question with Spence Jr, is just how good is he, he is
undoubtedly a talented boxer, but this fight will go a long way to
telling us just how deep Spence Jr talent really goes.
With two
fighters who are well matched, both physically and talent wise, this
match has all the marks of being a very close and entertaining fight.
I see this fight going the distance, with Brook winning a close and
maybe controversial points decision.
The
main fight on the undercard, is George Groves (25-3, 18koes) against
Fedor Chudinov (14-1, 10koes) for the vacant WBA world
super-middleweight title.
This
will be Groves 4th
attempt at winning a world title, after failed attempts against Carl
Froch, (twice) and Badou Jack. This is a fight which Groves should
win, Chudinov is very tough, but lacks the higher boxing skills of
Groves. He also lacks the greater talent and experience of Groves.
Groves
has said that this is a fight he must win, and if he can box to the
best of his ability he should be able to claim a close but clear
points win over Chudinov, and finally claim that elusive world
championship.
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