Former welterweight champion Kell Brook is very familiar with both Errol Spence and Terence Crawford.
Brook faced Spence in May of 2017. Spence was the mandatory challenger when he traveled to the UK to capture his first career world title, by breaking Brook’s orbital bone and stopping him in the eleventh round to capture the IBF welterweight title.
In November of 2020, Brook traveled to the United States to challenge Crawford for his WBO welterweight title. Brook started well and was actually up on the cards when Crawford blasted him out in the fourth round.
On July 29th, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Spence and Crawford will come together for all the marbles – with one of them walking away with the WBC, IBF, WBO, WBA titles to become the undisputed champion. Showtime Pay-Per-View will carry the event.
“I’m very excited for this fight and everyone is talking about this fight. It’s a massive fight and for number one. I actually put both these guys up as pound-for-pound in all the divisions. and they’re going to go after it. Errol Spence is a very big welterweight, a natural southpaw. He’s big and strong and goes to the body good. His IQ is very high in the ring,” Brook said.
“Terence Crawford can box. He’s a sharpshooter with his punches and a very good finisher. He’s going to need every game plan in this fight. This is a real test. I put up guys like Errol, Crawford, Shawn Porter and Golovkin who I’ve been in there with who just have that aura around them. They have that X-factor. It’s the small margins that will decide this fight. It will come down to who has prepared the best. This is the real test for number one in the division and we’re going to get some toe-to-toe action.
Brook could see the fight going either way, depending on the game plan being executed by both fighters.
“I think Errol brings calculated pressure and will go to the body. He will be the bigger guy in the fight. Crawford has to be sharp and use the entire ring and pick his shots at the right time and make Spence work when he doesn’t want to work. He has to be very clever and get the rounds and break him down over the fight. I think inactivity can be an issue and it’s mental for Errol, who might question his inactivity. Time will tell,” Brook said.
“I think Terence is a very sharp and snapping puncher and Errol has a more grinding and thumping kind of power. That’s the difference I see in the two. We’re talking about two star fighters and it’s going to come down to a very small margin and they’re going to have to bring every part of their game to get a victory.”