British challenger Kell Brook (32-0, 22 KOs) is going to be stepping out of his comfort zone in coming to the United States to challenge IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (24-0-1, 15 KOs) this Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Brook has analyzed Porter’s fighting style and he doesn’t see any way that he can use his aggressive attacks against him on Saturday. Brook points to his timing and his power that will keep Porter from being able to crowd him the way he does all of his opponents.
Brook wants to hit Porter with hard shots each time he tries to charge him to get inside. Brook sees Porter eventually giving up on the idea of trying to fight him on the inside, and instead he’ll stick to the outside where Brook holds all the advantages due to his superior height and reach.
“I know 100 percent I’ll beat Shawn Porter,” Brook said. “It’s not about looking at my opponent. It’s about looking at what I’m doing. This fight is definitely going to be a candidate for fight of the year. I’ve got something to prove. I believe I was born for this and it’s my time. We’re going to see fireworks. Get your popcorn ready.”
Brook is going to need a plan B in case Porter is able to get on the inside against him because he doesn’t have the skill set to be fighting a guy as good as Porter on the inside. Brook has always an outside fighter, and there’s no way that he’ll be good enough from one training camp to match Porter in close. But what Brook can do is tie Porter up each time he works his way in close.
By tying Porter up, Brook can nullify his offensive entirely unless there’s a strict referee that takes points off for clinching like the one that worked the Brandon Rios vs. Diego Chaves fight recently.
For Brook, this is one of the rare occasions where he’s not fighting in front of a home crowd and that could be a major problem for him. Brook has spent 10 years as a pro pretty much fighting continuously in front of friendly fans that have been supportive of him. He’s obviously not going to be booed at the StubHub Center, but the cheers that he normally receives when he throws a shot or does something good in the ring isn’t going to be there for this fight.
