By Keith Idec

Dominic Ingle respects Errol Spence Jr.’s willingness to fight Kell Brook in Brook’s hometown.

Brook’s trainer still doesn’t see Spence as the threat he has been portrayed to be in their 12-round fight for Brook’s IBF welterweight title. Ingle indicated during a press conference Wednesday that the unbeaten Spence is in for a rude awakening when he battles Brook on May 27 at Bramall Lane, a soccer stadium in Sheffield, England (Showtime; Sky Box Office).

“I think if Errol Spence is coming over here with the idea that he’s gonna make a dent in Kell Brook, he better re-think his game plan,” Ingle said. “Kell Brook is a very technically sound fighter. He’s the best we’ve got [in England]. He’s been in with bigger guys. He was the first one to take on Golovkin, showed people the blueprint of how to beat him. Daniel Jacobs nearly came close to doing that.

“I’m not too sure Errol Spence is the best at 147 in America. I think there’s other fighters that I’d class in front of him. But he’s coming over here, he’s taking his chances, you know, and we’ll see how he goes on. We’ve got a DVD of his fights. We’ll analyze everything. He’s a southpaw. Kell loves fighting southpaws. For us, it’s actually easier than orthodox [opponents].”

Ingle didn’t specify which welterweights from the United States he considers better than Spence. Regardless, the veteran trainer doesn’t think Spence is ready for what will undoubtedly be a step up in competition when he boxes Brook.

“I’m sure that Kell Brook will come out victorious,” Ingle said. “I think Errol Spence will learn a lot. He’s still got time to come back and maybe challenge other guys in the division – [Keith] Thurman or [Danny] Garcia or someone like that – and pick himself back up. But I don’t think on the 27th it’s gonna be his night.”

The 27-year-old Spence (21-0, 18 KOs), a strong southpaw from DeSoto, Texas, is the mandatory challenger for Brook’s IBF 147-pound championship. The 30-year-old Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) will fight for the first time since middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) stopped him in the fifth round of their September 10 fight at O2 Arena in London.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.