Spence Vs Brook Predictions
One fighter is ESPN's No. 4 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. The other is 0-2 in his past two title fights. While a prediction could seem easy to figure out based just on those two facts, the fight between Errol Spence Jr. and Danny Garcia on Saturday could be closer than some think.
- Spence Vs Brook Predictions Basketball
- Errol Spence Vs Brooks
- Kell Brook Vs Spence
- Spence Vs Brook Predictions Bleacher Report
- Spence Vs Brook Predictions Football
Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) defended his WBC and IBF welterweight world titles with a split decision victory against Shawn Porter in September 2019. But a few weeks later, Spence was involved in a one-car accident that left him in the hospital for days with lacerations on his face and broken teeth.
Errol Spence Jr. Shawn Porter odds. Opening odds: Spence -1000. The Garcia and Kell Brook bouts are proof of that where Garcia was supposed to be the one to knock Spence off his perch, but.
And while Spence and his trainer believe he is back to normal, the biggest question is how Spence will react after getting hit once the fight starts. Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs) is fast and has power in both hands, and he could test Spence early.
ESPN asked a panel of boxing experts for their takes on the fight. Here's what they had to say.
Editor's note: Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.
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- Two-time World Championships silver medalist Kamshybek Kunkabayev, from Kazakhstan, will continue his fast track to a world title shot Saturday. Kunkabayev (2-0, 2 KOs) will take on Server Emurlaiev in a 10-rounder for the WBO Asia Pacific cruiserweight title from Baluan Sholak Sports Palace in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Terence Crawford, ESPN's No.1 pound-for-pound boxer, WBO welterweight world titlist
How Spence wins: Spence wins if he controls the distance -- and doesn't let Garcia get too confident. One thing about Garcia is that if he gets too confident, that's when the shots really start going off.
How Garcia wins: The key for Garcia winning is to be himself and just pick up his punch selection and not stand right in front of Spence. Take angles and fight his fight. He's a good counterpuncher, real smart, and I'm sure they have a game plan they believe can work. He has to believe in himself.
X factor: Is Spence going to be the same Spence [in his first fight] back from the car accident? From the looks of it, he looks like he's in tremendous shape and well-prepared for this fight. Both of them, actually.
It's going to be a good fight. A little bit closer than everybody thinks it's going to be, but it should be exciting.
Prediction: I'm leaning toward Spence. But at the same time, Garcia can easily go for the upset, being that he's good at fighting southpaws. Spence likes to trade sometimes, so that gives Garcia a chance to land that big hook he likes to land time and time again to get his wins.
I got it 50-50. Anybody can win in this fight. Two top athletes, both strong, both smart. It's anybody's fight in my mind, being that I've seen Garcia step up time and time again in these fights. But I'm leaning slightly toward Spence. -- Cameron Wolfe
Kell Brook, former welterweight world titlist, lost to Spence in 2017
How Spence wins: It's a very interesting fight as no one has seen what Spence is going to be like after the car crash and if it has had an impact on his boxing. We're going to see what he has left in this fight. If he's like he was before the crash, he stops Garcia late.
How Garcia wins: I don't know what Garcia has got left at welterweight, but judging by the pictures they both look healthy and they have trained well for this. Even though Garcia has lost some fights to Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman at welterweight, he's still an elite fighter. As you saw with my fight against Crawford, one punch can change a fight very quickly at elite level.
X factor: I think the car crash could have a massive effect on Spence, we will just have to see how bad it has affected him, any percent at elite level is a big difference. Two or three percent is massive; you need to be at the top of your game.
Prediction:I will go with Spence. He's looking like he's fully functional; he will win it comfortably, but they will still have a few exchanges. I'm going on points. -- Nick Parkinson
Teddy Atlas, ESPN analyst, host of 'THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas' podcast
How Spence wins: Counterpunchers need assistance to counter. They need cooperation. They need help from [an opponent] to be a good counterpuncher. They need a certain geography in the ring where you, as an opponent, are walking in close enough for them to be able to pull off the counter. They need that cooperation and that assistance in that kind of way. If you [as an opponent] are controlling the distance with your jab and getting good extension and you're controlling the outside, not just walking in, you stymie your opponent's efforts to be a good counterpuncher.
You're not giving them anything to really counter. It works in contrast to what people have as an image of Spence -- that he's just an aggressive guy, he's a relentless guy, he's a destructive force coming forward all the time. He's a pretty smart guy. He didn't become an Olympian by not becoming a pretty good technical fighter. That's the dimension people don't understand with him.
How Garcia wins: Danny is going to have to use his jab more. He's going to have to find a way to create more offense on the front end, not just on the back end. His Sunday punch is his left hook, but he's a counterpuncher. He's looking to take advantage of your mistakes. The front end sometimes suffers a little bit where he doesn't use his jab enough or where he doesn't create offense enough. He looks to create it off the back end if you're making a mistake.
If Spence is anywhere near what he used to be, Garcia is not going to outwork Spence, so he's going to have to hurt him. And the best way to hurt Spence is maybe hope to catch him early, where, maybe coming off the inactivity, coming off the accident, he's a little overanxious and he can walk him into a trap left hook. By hurting him, Garcia can win rounds that way without having to have the punch numbers exceed what Spence's numbers are probably going to have to be. He's going to have to hurt him in the fight at some point.
X factor: The early rounds are going to be a search to find the old Errol Spence. Does he still exist? Is he still there? That's what this is going to be. It's not going to have so much to do with Danny Garcia -- a good fighter, a very good fighter. But it's going to have to do more with Errol Spence taking a journey and finding himself -- 'Am I still there in a way that I need to be there?'
Prediction: Spence is going to win a split decision. I think there's going to be some bumps in the road coming back. I think that it will be a journey for him, a search. And when you're searching for something, it usually takes time to find it. -- Ben Baby
Spence Vs Brook Predictions Basketball
Sergio Mora, DAZN boxing analyst, former junior middleweight world titlist
How Spence wins: He needs to fight behind the jab and not get into a combination with Garcia. Garcia likes to punch you in between the shots. So if you're throwing a three-, four-punch combination, he'll punch you between 2 and 3. No one knows how Spence is going to react or how his body's going to react. Even though he looks in fantastic shape, he has been out of the ring for a long time and he's coming back from a car accident. If he can fight smart and carefully behind the jab, not really mix up the combinations too early with Garcia, I think that will be a smart play for Spence to cruise into a decision.
How Garcia wins: Garcia needs to put pressure on Spence from Round 1. He needs to remind Spence what it is to be back in the ring. I think he needs to throw caution to the wind. Garcia, in his biggest fights, has come up short. And it wasn't by a lot. Both of them [against Porter and Thurman] were competitive fights. But he started to get into it in the middle rounds. For this one, I think he needs to jump on Spence. If he lets Spence feel like himself the first couple of rounds and lets him get his legs under him, it's only going to go one way.
X factor: Ultimately, nobody, including Errol Spence, is going to know what it's going to feel like when he gets punched. And he is going to get clipped. Whether it's a clean shot or one of the side of the temple or one off the side of the jaw, he's going to get hit. And how is he going to react when he gets hit?
He doesn't necessarily need to get hurt. All he needs to do is just shell up for Garcia to see red and push him backward and punch at his gloves and win that round convincingly and take some confidence away from Spence.
Prediction: Spence hasn't lost. We haven't seen him close to losing, so we gotta go with Spence via decision. I don't think Spence stops Garcia, that's for sure. But he just went through a horrific car accident. I just see him having a difficult time with himself coming back into the ring and obviously what Garcia is going to put him through in 12 rounds. It's all going to be resilience on Errol Spence. -- Ben Baby
Errol Spence Vs Brooks
THE FACTS
Where is Terence Crawford vs Kell Brook taking place? MGM Grand Conference Center, Las Vegas
When is Terence Crawford vs Kell Brook on and what time does it start? Sunday 15thNovember, 2020 – 04:00 (UK)
What channel is Terence Crawford vs Kell Brook on? Premier Sports in the UK
Where can I stream Terence Crawford vs Kell Brook? This event will be streamed live online via the Premier Player
Kell Brook Vs Spence
Where can I get tickets for Terence Crawford vs Kell Brook? This event will take place without spectators
THE LOWDOWN
WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) is in action for the first time since December 2019 when he successfully defended his belt against Lithuania’s Egidijus Kavaliauskas. A very highly-skilled boxer, Crawford is rightfully regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world right now and he has claimed world titles in three-different weight classes during a stellar career.
Kell Brook (39-2, 27 KOs) has parted ways with his long-time trainer Dominic Ingle since he defeated Mark DeLuca in January and he is now trained by Carlos Formento. The former IBF welterweight champion has also dropped down in weight to take on Crawford, and indeed, this is his first contest at welterweight since he lost to Errol Spence Jr. in May 2017. Brook’s finest night in the ring came all the way back in 2014 when he defeated Shawn Porter to win the IBF welterweight title, but that was a long time ago and he suffered serious eye socket injuries in defeats against both Spence Jr. and Gennady Golovkin since then.
Spence Vs Brook Predictions Bleacher Report
THE PREDICTION
Kell Brook will be hoping to re-live his glory night from August 2014 when he captured the IBF welterweight title in America against Shawn Porter, but realistically, a repeat of that feat looks extremely unlikely against the very talented Terence Crawford. The champion is a very slick technician and he is sure to put pressure on the areas where Brook suffered injuries in his bouts against Errol Spence Jr. and Gennady Golovkin. The pressure is likely to eventually take its toll on the English fighter and a stoppage win for Crawford should ensue.
Spence Vs Brook Predictions Football
Prediction: Crawford to win via KO/TKO