Shawn Porter is the common opponent whose fights against Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford have been analyzed the most ahead of the Spence-Crawford mega fight for undisputed welterweight glory on July 29.
Well, that doesn't mean that boxing fans and critics alike can't learn about Spence and Crawford through another one of their common opponents — Kell Brook. Spence and Crawford recently sat down with Premier Boxing Champions to rate each other's performances against the British fighter.
Here are their findings, sticking points and counterpunches:
Errol Spence Jr. vs. Kell Brook
How Brook entered his welterweight title fight against Spence
Kell Brook entered his fight against Errol Spence Jr. as the reigning IBF welterweight world champion. Brook had dared to be great by challenging Gennadiy Golovkin the fight before and bit off more than he could chew, resulting in a fifth-round TKO loss for the British fighter. However, prior to that, Brook had recorded three IBF title defenses after first defeating Shawn Porter to get the belt. Meanwhile, Spence entered the bout with a pristine 21-0 record and snowballing momentum.
Result: Spence defeats Brook by 11-round knockout to become the new IBF welterweight world champion; May 27, 2017
“The Truth” traveled to Brook’s home of Sheffield, England and methodically broke the champion down, unloading a bevy of punches to drop Brook in the 10 round. Sensing he had Brook ripe for the picking, Spence battered the Brit’s left eye until he simply couldn’t fight any longer, ending the bout in the 11 and forcing the title to change hands.
Terence Crawford’s counterpunch to Spence’s victory over Brook
Crawford gives Spence credit for finishing Brook.
“His fight against Kell Brook was a grueling fight,” Crawford told PBC. “He broke Kell Brook down in the later rounds. I feel as if he did what he had to do to get the job done — like myself."
It’s just that he feels like he handled Brook more efficiently three years later.
“I broke Kell Brook down, caught him with a great shot early in the fight,” he continued, “and I felt like I got the job done faster and quicker than he did.”
Terence Crawford vs. Kell Brook
How Brook entered his fight to challenge Terence Crawford for the WBO welterweight world title
After losing the IBF strap to Spence, Brook gathered himself up enough to build a three-fight winning streak, including a seventh-round TKO of Mark DeLuca in February 2020. That set the stage for him to clash later in the year with Crawford, who by this point was 36-0 with three defenses of his WBO world title attached to his name.
Result: Crawford blasts Brook with fourth-round TKO to retain title; November 14, 2020
“Bud” stepped into and launched a perfectly-placed compact right hook that spun Brook backwards, before the champ swarmed him with a buffet of pointed and vicious shots until the referee had seen enough, stopping the bout in the fourth round.
Spence’s counterpunch to Crawford’s TKO of Brook
Spence believes that he turned Brook into a different fighter after defeating him more than three years prior to the Brit clashing with Crawford.
“[Brook] had been broken twice — by Golovkin and then I broke the other eye,” Spence told PBC. “At the time I beat him, he was the IBF welterweight champion of the world. At the time Terence Crawford beat him, it was basically just some fight.
“[Brook] was struggling to make 147 back when I was fighting him,” he continued, “so I feel like at that time, he was just doing it for the pride and the money, and just to fight a great fighter.”
He added: "I feel like Kell Brook was on the verge of retiring anyway."