Kell Brook
Kell ‘Kid’ Brook (23-0, 16 KOs) is a Brendan Ingle fighter to the core. The rangy, languid stance? Check. Low-slung hands? Check. Reflex-based defence? Check. Lunging shots thrown from unconventional, even bizarre, angles? Definitely. The boxers, with their various strengths, weaknesses and idiosyncrasies may change, but the style never does.
Naseem Hamed, it’s most famous exponent, was one of the finest physical specimens to grace the sport. He had devastating power, rapid hands, lightning reflexes… but his bout against the less physically-gifted Marco Antonio Barrera was a microcosm of every drawback inherent in the Ingle style. Barrera – a top-level technician well schooled in the fundamentals – jabbed and countered so effectively that Nas was kept off-balance, flailing around the ring and unable to plant his feet while being forced to throw wild, lunging pot-shots. The style was totally exposed and although no arguments can be made against the number of fighters trainer Ingle has produced, I have occasionally wondered what would have happened if a young Hamed (or even Herol Graham, Johnny Nelson or Ryan Rhodes) had walked into the Kronk gym instead of the Wincobank.
Brook, 24, is not an athlete of Hamed’s calibre but then few are. He is useful in all areas without actually excelling in any of them… reasonable power, decent speed, good movement and a promising boxing IQ. In 23 fights he has been fed a host of journeymen, with the best name on his resume coming recently, Michael Jennings (36-3, 17 KOs). It’s fair to say he has been matched very kindly and it’s beyond time he stepped up a level. Brook, the British welterweight champion, is ranked No.1 by the WBO but Manny Pacquiao will vacate the belt before he faces such an obscure fighter – I can imagine Bob Arum mulling it over in the Top Rank offices now:
Arum: So this English kid… what’s his name, Brook? Who has he faced?
Flunkey: Well, he once fought a guy who lost to Cotto?
Arum: That bad, huh? Can he bring over 20,000 like Hatton?
Flunkey: I don’t know if he could do 20,000 PPV.
Arum: Where does the WBO get these guys? Is Morales still breathing? Let’s make number four!
So while Brook Vs. Pacquiao is not going to happen any time soon (ever), he has recently being piping up in the press about Amir Khan (24-1, 17 KOs). This could be an interesting fight in the future – once Brook weans himself off the tomato can diet – because right now it would be insanity to take such a gargantuan step-up in class. Frank Warren knows this – despite his comments to the press – and he will be in no hurry to make the fight. More likely is the mooted bout against unbeaten American prospect Mike Jones (23-0, 18 KOs). Jones, at 6’1” looks like a super middleweight and punches like one too, so it should be a good test for Brook and will give the rest of us an indication of how far he can go in the sport. Of course, Jones recently looked less than stellar in escaping with a Majority Decision against gatekeeper Jesus Soto-Karass, and now has a rematch lined up against him to deal with.
Kell Brook quote:
On Amir Khan: “When we sparred together as amateurs they had to separate us because I was giving him a serious hiding. We were young, in a training camp, and he was heading to the Olympics. But when we got in the ring I pasted him. The fact is he is dodging me. I read that Frank Warren offered Amir £1.5m to fight me but it was bigger than that. He doesn’t want it – but I’d love the opportunity. He is a nice lad but perhaps over-rated, he is fast but has a rubbish chin.”
Tip for 2011:
Brook needs to face better quality opponents, so hopefully we will see him thrown in against Jones. He may also get a chance to fight for the vacant WBO title should Pacquiao relinquish it in 2011.
