Without the GGG fight , would Brook have beaten Spence?

I dunno SS, I need more evidence to suggest that fracturing one eye socket will weaken the other long term. Personally, I buy into the idea that he wasn’t as sharp as he once was, with not consistently fighting work class opposition and he took some big shots as a result.

 

I agree. 100% fit sharp and healthy against the best Spence ive seen so far and I have Brook the winner in a hard fought fight. He had all the tools and imo the rest knew it at 147, the little fella from Sheffield had them all concerned, Spence to his credit wanted it though..Did you get the feeling the other fighters didn't fancy it with him ?? I did

 

Good post this and I don't think it's as clear cut as some are saying.

I had Brook up in long periods of that fight before Spence started to take over... but a huge part of that was due to the eye injury. An eye injury that he knew was seriously threatening as he'd just gone through a nightmare with the other eye following the GGG fight.

So you have a strong argument to say that had he not previously been in with GGG and therefore not known the extent of what that injury can cause then would he have stayed on his knee against Spence?

Even following that absolutely brilliant fight with Porter this weekend, Spence when questioned still says Brook was his hardest fight to date.

 

I think Spence knows Brook wasn't 100%, he stopped him but its not the full picture

 

I don't think physically or mentally Brook was the same after the GGG fight. A serious injury raises all sorts of doubt in a fighter's mind, that can affect their ability and willingness to go beyond what is normally possible. He wasn't shot but he was "damaged", and he probably had doubts coming into the fight that he didn't have previously. Would his eye hold up? Was he prepared to risk his sight to win the fight?

It's not a given that the first eye injury contributed to the second. Neither is it certain that an undefeated, supremely confident Brook would be able to bite down on his gumshield and turn the fight around in the last few rounds against Spence. They aren't ridiculous suppositions though; there are far crazier claims put out there on a regular basis.

Push comes to shove, I think Spence finds a way to beat a peak Brook because he's a clutch fighter. Ability wise they are very similar. I think it's a close decision though rather than a stoppage.

 

Maybe maybe not, who knows.

 

I have said for a long time and in previous threads on the same subject. If he hadn't fought GGG, of course he would have beaten Spence at that time. He'll, he was in front for a lot of the fight against Spence anyway!

 

Spence could have done the same damage regardless.

However GGG fight must have dented Brook's confidence.

 

I think it’s worth bearing in mind that that wasn’t a peak Spence either although I appreciate that’s not the title of the thread. Brook was his first proper world class test. Spence has gone on to improve significantly since then and I believe this version would dismantle dismantle any version of Brook.

 

On a separate note, how did people have that Spence v Porter fight? I thought it was brilliant, the momentum swung back and forth. I thought Porter proper roughed him up at times and had a lot of success. His footwork is probably underrated. Spence was catching him with a lovely counter left hand & his work to the body although very naughty at times was quality. I had it draw.

 

He was a couple of rounds ahead after 6 but boxing is a 12 round fight and you could clearly see that Spence was breaking Brook down.

 

Had Spence 7-5 in rounds with an extra point for the knockdown. It was a true, world class elite matchup. With the talent around these days, these fights should be the norm not the exception. Brilliant to watch and showed how good Porter is - true world class talent. Spence is number 1 at WW. Hopefully he gets the Crawford fight next year.

It's a shame given we've had strength in the weight class, but I don't see any room for any British fighter in the top 10 of the welterweight rankings anytime soon.

 

The Special K turned out to be less special than the fan club thought and certainly would get badly pumped facing any elite fighter at any point in his career.

Will go down with a similar CV and category to George Groves - good fighters who won world titles but nowhere near elite level.

 

Beaten? Probably not. But it would have been a relatively close contest.
Parris would have been the split in the split decision.