Malignaggi: What Happens When Brook Lands Big Shot on Spence?

By Edward Chaykovsky

Former two division world champion Paulie Malignaggi is very interested in the upcoming fight between IBF welterweight king Kell Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) and undefeated mandatory challenger Errol Spence (21-0, 18 KOs).

The fight was officially announced on Wednesday, and takes place at Bramall Lane in Sheffield on Saturday May 27, live on Sky Sports Box Office and live on Showtime in the United States.

Brook makes the fourth defense of his title, that he captured in August 2014 when he traveled over to the United States to win a close twelve round decision over Shawn Porter. 

Brook then retained the title with easy knockout wins over Jo Jo Dan, Frankie Gavin and Kevin Bizier.

In his last fight, he moved up by two weight divisions to challenge middleweight Gennady Golovkin last September at The O2 in London. Golovkin stopped him five rounds.

Spence became the mandatory challenger when he knocked out Leonard Bundu in six rounds in August, and destroyed Chris Algieri in four rounds two months earlier.

Malignaggi wonders what will happen when Brook lands, if he lands, one of his big punches on Spence.

"Errol is one of the most talented prospects in the US, but he's untested at this level, so we'll have to see how he reacts when he's hit by a sharp puncher like Kell. He's a terrific body puncher with solid hand speed and he knows how to open you up," Malignaggi told Sky Sports.

"The thing that impresses me about Errol is his composure in the ring, his style, his balance. He's a terrific body puncher with solid hand speed, and he knows how to open you up. He makes his own openings very well.

"If Kell is struggling at the weight, Errol's terrific body punching could come into play, but the question mark is what happens when Brook hits him, because he hasn't been hit a lot. He hasn't fought anybody like Kell and hasn't been hit a lot by the level of opposition that he's fought. Kell doesn't just hit - he really hits! And he hits with sharp power."