Errol Spence (22-0, 19 KO) is the new IBF welterweight champion. On Saturday in Sheffield, England, Spence went on the road and pounded his way to a hard-fought 11th-round KO victory over Kell Brook (36-2).
The fight was close until the middle of the seventh when Spence landed a punch on Brook’s right eye that caused swelling that would increase for the remainder of the rounds. Spence’s consistent body attack also helped to drain the energy from Brook and ultimately shifted the edge in stamina in the new champion’s favor.
In the 10th round, Brook would go down from exhaustion and an accumulation of punches.
Here is the knockdown #brookspence #boxing pic.twitter.com/uZpa74vem6
? Frontproof Media (@FrontProofMedia) May 27, 2017
He was also battling the effects of the now massively swollen eye. To Brook’s credit, once he rose to his feet, he came firing back at Spence with hard shots to salvage some dignity and an ounce of momentum.
The positive vibes would be short lived. A tired and clearly injured Brook would take a knee in the 11th round to accept the KO defeat as his damaged eye wouldn’t allow him to go on. Brook backed away from Spence without taking punches, and he took a knee.
He began opening and closing his injured eye and he took referee Howard John Foster’s 10-count. Some of Brook’s contemporaries were critical of his decision.
How can you quit in the 11 rd in front of 27,000 of your fans. Smh
? Gervonta Davis (@Gervontaa) May 27, 2017
He quit
? Terence Crawford (@budcrawford402) May 27, 2017
How do you just give up your world title with only 2 rounds to go because of a swollen eye? Congratulations Errol Spence.
? Chris Eubank Jr (@ChrisEubankJr) May 27, 2017
At the time of the stoppage, I had it scored 97-92 for Spence, but two of the judges had it a little closer.
At time of KO Spence led on all three cards. 97-92, 96-93, 95-94. #BrookSpence #boxing
? Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) May 27, 2017
Spence is a breath of fresh air for the sport and his makeup falls in line with the positive trend the sport has been on as of late. We’ve seen some of the most competitive and fan-friendly fights in 2017, and Spence is seemingly interested in continuing on along that path.
HARD WORK ALWAYS PAYS OFF!! #StrapSeason #AndTheNew pic.twitter.com/0jBARMRwM2
? Errol Spence (@ErrolSpenceJr) May 27, 2017
Immediately after the fight, he expressed a desire to unify the welterweight titles. He wants to face WBA and WBC champion Keith Thurman next. He also called out WBO champion Manny Pacquiao. The fact that Spence is putting value on the titles is a great sign.
“The goal is to unify titles. I want to fight Keith Thurman next. Manny Pacquiao next. I want to fight the champions.” – @ErrolSpenceJr
? PBC (@premierboxing) May 27, 2017
For too long, fighters haven’t valued championships and have instead put all of their interest in low-risk, high-reward battles. Brook also deserves credit. Not only did he jump two weight classes to challenge Gennady Golovkin in 2016, he came back down to 147 pounds to defend his title against a talented and undefeated 26-year-old like Spence.
That’s what champions and real warriors do, unfortunately for him, he didn’t come out on the winning end on Saturday. Quite honestly, I’m not sure he has much left in the tank?at least on the elite level.
He’s reached a point of success where he thinks too logically to push himself to a point where he can pull out tough victories against the best opponents. He’s understandably conscious of his eyes and other areas of his body. Thus, instead of gutting out the final round and a half, Brook went into self-preservation mode as he felt his eye worsening.
That’s the mindset of most, but not that of a hungry fighter. He probably won’t retire, but he should at least consider it. As for Spence, he is quickly approaching a pay-per-view level. He’s a former Olympian who has now gone on to win a world title in one of the sport’s glamour divisions.
If he faces and defeats Thurman, there’s no question a bout with he and Pacquiao would be the biggest fight of whatever year it took place. That’s not a simple fight to make, but in a perfect world, it could happen in 2018. For now, Spence can enjoy his status as boxing’s next star on the cusp of superstar status.
