The New York-born boxer has been installed as the favorite with the sportbooks to come away from Sheffield with the belt and improve his pound-for-pound ranking in in the sport.
Spence Jr is a best price of -137.50 to win the fight and +300 to do so via KO or TKO with various bookmakers including bitcoin-based operators such as this website. If you are having a bet on the big welterweight contest then it is worth shopping around for the odds and offers online to ensure you pick up the best return.
The man nicknamed the Truth has a growing reputation in boxing. In 2016, he had two big wins over Chris Algieri and Leonard Bundu – both via stoppage – which put him in contention for a world title shot in the division. The latter was an eliminator with the IBF and Spence Jr dominated the bout from start to finish. He eventually cornered his opponent and unloaded a series of combinations which forced referee Johnny Callas to call off the fight.
Spence Jr will be putting his unbeaten record on the line at Bramall Lane, the home of Sheffield United Football Club later this month. Eighteen of his 21 wins have come by KO or TKO, and the last time he was unable to get the job done inside the distance was against Ronald Cruz in a 10-round contest back in June 2014.
Britain’s Brook is the longest serving champion in the welterweight division and has held his belt since August 2014 when he beat Shawn Porter in California for the title. The IBF champion has successfully defended his crown against Jo Jo Dan, Frankie Gavin and Kevin Bizier in what were three comfortable victories for the Sheffield man. In his last fight against Gennady Golovkin, he stepped up two weight divisions to take on the WBC, IBF and IBO champion, where he was stopped for the first time in his career in the fifth round in London.
Brook’s promotional team were in talks back in January over an-all British clash with Amir Khan; however, that fell through which led to the Spence Jr bout being made. If Brook did not accept the fight with the American, he would have to vacate his belt, which would have allowed the Truth to contest for the vacant title. Khan has said he is still open to a deal being made with Brook for later in 2017 if he gets past his next opponent.
25,000 fans are expected to pile into Bramall Lane for the clash of the welterweight boxers. A strong undercard features the WBC super-middleweight contest between George Groves and Fedor Chudinov for the vacant crown in the division, while Dave Allen will meet Lenroy Thomas for the Commonwealth heavyweight title on the same evening.