EXPECTATION has greeted almost every move for Errol Spence since he turned professional as one of America’s best prospects. The Texan has impressed on the way up, stopping Chris Algieri and Leonard Bundu. But he will prove himself the real deal if he beats Kell Brook in Sheffield on May 27.
“This is a defining fight for me. Most guys with my pedigree get the title handed to them in a certain type of way. They don’t go across seas to the hometown guy and a real fighter like Kell Brook, that’s really unheard of. I definitely think I get a lot of credit going overseas and fighting Kell Brook,” Errol said. “I know it’s not going to be an easy fight for me, it’s going to be a real test, going to his home town and to take his title from him. But it’s something that I’m willing to do, it’s something that real fighters do, going to other people’s towns and fighting the champion. That’s what he did, he came to America and that’s what I’m going to do. I’ve come to the UK, I’m going to his hometown to take the title. I know it won’t be easy but I’m 100% ready for this fight.”
In fact, he doubts Brook’s battle with Gennady Golovkin last September will have had a lasting impact on the Yorkshireman. He is expecting Kell to be at his best. “He’s had nine months to recover, that’s a long time. It’s not like he took a beating for 12 rounds. There’s guys that have been in tougher wars than that over 12 rounds, nine rounds, basically all out wars and come back to fight. He got hit a lot, he took a beating but it was five or six rounds, you know what I’m saying. Nine months is enough time for him to recover and recuperate and get back to normal,” Spence reasoned.
It was a fight the American always thought would come. “He would have been ducking me if he had come down for Amir Khan but not to defend his title. So I thought he would come down, I wanted him to come down because I wanted to take the belt from the champion, I didn’t want to fight the next available guy. I wanted to fight the champion, the guy who has the belt. I kind of thought he would.”
“I’ve been waiting for a long time now. Something I knew it was going to happen but I had to wait,” he continued. “The fight is finally here and I’m finally getting my opportunity to prove myself and prove I am the best welterweight in the division fighting Kell Brook.
“I’m expecting the environment to be lively. These are hardcore boxing fans in the UK. They really come out to support. I expect him to have a lot of support, I expect me to have a lot of boos, I welcome that. It’s a lot of pressure on him to perform, in front of his fans and his friends and I’m not worried about the crowds. It’s going to be me and him in the ring.”
