Kell Brook vs Frankie Gavin Preview May 30th
Undefeated IBF World Welterweight Champion Kell (Ezekiel) Brook will be defending his crown against fellow Englishman Frankie Gavin at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday, May 30. The 12-round bout will be screened live in the UK via the Sky Box Office platform. The 29-year-old Brook is hoping to look impressive in this fight and to then unify the titles or take on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a big payday showdown before Mayweather retires.
Brook, who hails from Sheffield, will enter the ring with a perfect record of 34-0 with 23 Kos, while the 29-year-old Gavin of Birmingham has an impressive 22-1 mark along with 13 Kos. Although this is basically considered just a tune up bout for Brook, he still can’t afford to take Gavin too lightly. Most fans and experts feel the southpaw Gavin is in for a battering, so he should be pretty loose as there won’t be any pressure on him. The only pressure on Gavin will likely be whatever he puts on himself as he realizes this may very well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Gavin has been beaten just once inside the ring since turning pro when he dropped a split decision to the underrated Leonard Bundu last August in England. He’s been quite busy since his lone defeat as he’s won three straight fights against the likes of Mate Hornyak, Bradley Skeete and Bogdan Mitic. The last time Brook was in the ring was back in March when he stopped the overmatched Jo Jo Dan, a Romanian/Canadian, in the fourth round.
Brook won his IBF title last August at the StubHub Center in Carson, California with an impressive majority-decision win over former champ Shawn Porter of America. Brook then sat out a few months after he was stabbed with a machete in the leg during an attack in September while he was on holiday in Tenerife. If Brook had his way he’d be fighting fellow Briton Amir Khan, but insists Gavin is a worthy opponent. Ironically, Khan is taking on American Chris Algieri just 24 hours before Brook faces Gavin. If they both win there could be a British showdown between the two later this year, possibly at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Brook certainly isn’t the biggest welterweight around as he stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 69-inch reach. He turned pro back in 2004 and has fought 171 rounds since then. Before beating Porter, Brook was a former British Welterweight Champion. His biggest fights up until then were against the likes of Philip Kotey, Lovemore NDou, Matthew Hatton and Carson Jones. Jones proved to be a tough nut to crack as Brook beat him by a 12-round majority decision in July of 2012. However, he stopped him in the eighth round in a rematch a year later.
Gavin is slightly taller at 5-foot-10, but his reach is unlisted. He turned pro in 2009 and has beaten the likes of Junior Witter, Denton Vassell, and Bradley Pryce before tasting defeat for the first time last summer when Bundu outpointed him. Bundu of Italy then went on to lose a 12-round unanimous decision to interim WBA Champion Keith Thurman of America. Gavin has 164 rounds under his belt up to now. As for power, Gavin’s knockout ratio is 56.5 per cent and Brook’s is 67.6.
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Prediction
Brook is a solid fighter who has better-than-average boxing skills to go along with pretty good power. He was basically an unknown outside of Britain until he upset Porter last year. He’s underrated in general, but if he wants to prove he’s a worthy world champion he needs to take care of Gavin in impressive fashion. Gavin is no slouch and should give Brook a good go of it before losing by a decision or possible late stoppage.
Odds
Sportsbook 5dimes.eu has the latest odds on all of the big fights. The odds of a Brook victory are listed at -1500 while a Gavin win is listed at +1000. Visit 5Dimes.eu to see up to date odds and to bet on this fight. You should also check out our recent boxing betting predictions to see how we’ve done.
Frankie Gavin betting • Kell Brook betting