Errol Spence Jr is your new IBF welterweight titlist after a sensational second half of his title fight in Sheffield, England. After a super competitive, even first seven rounds, Spence began battering Kell Brook in round eight. Brook’s eye was clearly bothering him and in the eleventh he took a knee. That ended the fight.
I will get to the ending in a moment, but along the ride that was just a super high level boxing match. Both Kell Brook (36-2, 25 KOs) and Errol Spence Jr (22-0, 19 KOs) were fighting at the highest tactical levels of the sport tonight in the UK. Just sensational stuff from a skills meeting skills perspective.
I thought Brook was getting the better of the fight through the first half, but only by the slimmest of margins. He did really well when he pushed Spence back, but Spence was there throwing back and landing every minute of the way. The American challenger did especially good work in the clinch as Brook tried to hold while Brook threw beautiful lead rights and sneaky lead left uppercuts to score for himself.
Spence clearly won the eighth and a momentum shift started there. Brook fought okay to start the ninth, but by the end of the round he was started to really receive a beating. It only got worse at the beginning of the tenth when the barrage started to turn savage and Brook dropped to a knee to find reprieve for both his body and increasingly damaged eye.
It was here where Kell Brook showed the most heart of his career. Despite looking like he was done, he took advantage of Spence slightly punching himself out to rally and have a pretty good finish to the tenth. He still lost it it 10-8, but there was a glimmer of hope still there for the then soon to be former English world titlist.
Spence snuffed that hope out in the eleventh by turning the volume back up. Everything he landed on Brook clearly bothered Kell’s left eye, the opposite eye that Golovkin damaged nine months or so ago. After pawing at it for a few seconds in between Spence’s attacks, Brook backed off and chose to be done.
In the strictest sense, it was a quit. It didn’t really feel like one, however. Watching Brook felt like watching a fight who simply gave it all he had. It just turned out it wasn’t enough.
Post-fight Kell Brook predictably and understandably talked about his eye and how he could not see to defend himself. Spence said he never felt sharp, but that he felt like he answered a lot of questions about himself. He also stated he would like to fight Keith Thurman next.
We would all like to see that.
