Brook vs Spence Jr: Trainer Dominic Ingle tells Sky Sports why preparation is key for IBF champion
Friday 26 May 2017 19:08, UK
All eyes were on Kell Brook when he stepped on the scales outside Sheffield City Hall on Friday. In front of his home crowd, the IBF welterweight champion stood and waited - along with the boxing world - to hear the verdict.
After a brief period of consultation between officials, Michael Buffer announced the numbers everyone had been waiting to hear. Brook came in at 10st 6lbs 7oz, comfortably inside the limit.
'The Special One' could now refuel, rest and ready himself for Errol Spence Jr. The "fun part" of the job, he told Sky Sports after the weigh-in.
His trainer, Dominic Ingle, admits it isn't easy for the 31-year-old to make the welterweight limit. But that isn't ground-breaking news - and Brook's willingness to do the hard yards in the gym - not to mention the sacrifices in terms of time spent away from his young family - shows just how much holding a world title means to him.
After a leap of faith against Gennady Golovkin that fell heroically short, the Yorkshireman has coped with the drop down in middleweight to appear in outstanding condition for a bout that will shape his boxing future.
"It's always been a struggle to make welterweight," Ingle told Sky Sports.
"The only time he won't make welterweight is when he can't make it. If he can do it, he will.
"It's hard work, of course. It's not enjoyable to do it but the very fact he's willing to go through it all again tells you a lot about Kell Brook."
Stripped down in the Sheffield sunshine, Brook looked primed for action, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
That should come as no surprise when you consider his gruelling preparations. He twice travelled to Fuerteventura to undergo intense training camps under the watchful gaze of Ingle and dietitian Greg Marriott, the man charged with making sure the numbers add up when it comes to the fighter's calorie intake.
No corners have been cut during the process. No last-minute sessions were required to get rid of the final few pounds. Basically, after all the concerns over Brook's physical status, there was no need to panic.
For Ingle, it has revived memories of the last time Brook went up against a highly-rated American welterweight - and he's hoping for a similar result to the 2014 win over Shawn Porter.
"We've had 16 weeks (to prepare). It's a slow process at first, but we'd already been in a camp for five weeks when we came back (to England) for the first press conference," he said.
"Kell looked lean and trim then, and I'm not even sure Errol Spence had even properly started his training camp. We've been preparing for a long, long time. However, that's the process. We don't cram it in.
"This just reminds me of the Shawn Porter fight. We've had weight targets every week and, with how he's trained, it seems to be the same as then.
"Kell goes in there just like we did against Porter; we knew we were up against it then but once the first bell goes and you get hit, it switches you on. It happened against Golovkin when the wake-up call was a left hook to the head. It woke Kell up and from that point on it was a fight."
Derrick James - Spence's trainer - questioned whether Brook would cope with coming down two divisions after his bout with Golovkin, particularly after a lengthy layoff due to a broken eye socket.
"Make that weight!" became a familiar catchphrase used in the build-up, including at Thursday's press conference at the fight venue. The verbal tennis between the teams was lively, although thankfully never threatened to get out of hand.
James wasn't the only one concerned about the idea of shedding so many pounds before such a pivotal contest. Brook opened up as the underdog, despite having the advantage of fighting in his own backyard.
Ingle, however, was never worried by talk about weight issues.
"As soon as we've seen them both on the scales, I think we will see a difference," he said on Thursday.
That difference ended up being two ounces (challenger Spence was fractionally lighter). The minimal gap on the scales may be mirrored in the ring in the main event at Bramall Lane, as two of the best in the division go toe to toe.
Spence has youth on his side, but Ingle believes the unbeaten Texan may have bitten off more than he can chew. The streamlined Brook looks hungry, and not just because he no longer has to diet.
Watch Brook vs Spence Jr, from Bramall Lane, Sheffield, on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports Box Office. You can book the event online here.
