The Errol Spence Jr. era has officially begun as on Saturday he defeats Kell Brook by 11th round TKO in front of 27,000 of Brook’s fans in Sheffield England to capture the IBF welterweight title.
There has been much hype surrounding Errol Spence Jr. since his performance at the 2012 Olympics. Many have said that he’s the next superstar of boxing, and has the potential to be an all-time great. On Saturday he showed that the hype surrounding him was justified as he became the first man to defeat Brook at welterweight.
Punch stats show Spence landed 246 out of 633 punches (39%) compared to Brook who landed 146 out 442 punches (31%).
The fight was close for the first half of the fight, but in the eighth, Spence began to take over. He hit Brook with a series of combinations to the head that began to swell Brook’s left eye.
In the ninth round, Spence was able to stalk Brook and force him to the ropes where he landed hard and effective shots to Brook’s body and head. The onslaught continued in round 10 as Spence once again forced Brook to the ropes where he unleashed furious combinations that forced Brook to his knees with 2:26 remaining in the round. Brook would get up and survive the round, but the outcome was inevitable.
After being battered in round 11 and clearly affected by the damage to his left eye, Brook took a knee without being punched with 1:29 remaining in the round which led to referee Howard Foster to call an end to the fight.
The 27-year-old Spence improved to 22-0, with 19 knockouts and will now be on everyone’s top 10 pound-for-pound list. Spence was superb as he showed tremendous skill, and showed that he can take a punch from a strong welterweight. He was gracious and gave Brook credit during his post-fight interview.
“I give myself a B-minus,” Spence told Sky Sports after his victory. “I was a little bit off with myoffensee and defense, but I give Kell a lot of credit. This is what true champions do. You go anywhere to fight.
“He’s a true champion and I wanted to fight him. He’s a tricky fighter and awkward. He’s also a strong fighter who can punch.”
Brook who’s record drops to (36-2, 25 KOs) went to a local hospital after the fight to get his eye checked out because there’s concern he may have a broken eye socket. This is Brook’s second consecutive loss by TKO as he was defeated by fifth round TKO by Gennady Golvokin in September. It’s doubtful we’ll see him in the ring again before 2018.
As for Spence he would like to face WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao, or WBC and WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman who just had elbow surgery, and is expected to be out of action for six months.
Whoever Spence fights next, they better be prepared for the toughest fight of their life. Right now it’s difficult to see any welterweight beating this talented man from DeSoto Texas