Brook v Dan Tale of the Tape

Live on Sky Sports from 19:30 on Saturday, Britain’s Kell Brook defends his IBF welterweight title against Jo Jo Dan at Sheffield’s Motorpoint Arena.

Ezekiel Brinsly Reid Brook

• Born and raised in the Steel City of Sheffield, Ezekiel Brinsly Reid “Kell” Brook turned pro in 2004 and has since amassed a 33-0 (22 KO) record. In terms of titles won, the Yorkshire man has held the British welterweight crown, minor titles such as the WBA and WBO Intercontinental belts and, of course, the IBF world welterweight championship.

• September 2009 saw Kell ‘Special K’ Brook named as Britain’s Young Boxer of the Year, winning by just one vote – a record. Within this year, Brook twice defended his British title with impressive, early stoppages.

• After two brutally tough fights with Carson Jones, Brook recorded a notable victory when stopping former WBA champion Vyacheslav Senchenko in the 4^th round. Senchenko, famously, had earlier ended Ricky Hatton’s career with a body shot – the same punch that ‘The Hitman’ thrived off using.

• Taking advantage of his first ever world title shot, Kell Brook defeated the then IBF world champion Shawn Porter on points in August 2014 to become Britain’s first world welterweight champion since Ricky Hatton.

• On holiday in Tenerife at the time, Kell Brook was stabbed with a machete in an unprovoked attack in September 2014. Requiring 32 metal staples in his left thigh, Brook could have died through loss of blood and had to endure a slow, painful road to recovery.

Jo Jo Dan: 34-2 (18 KO)

Real name Ionut Dan Ion, ‘Jo Jo’ Dan is a 33-year-old Romanian boxer that currently holds the NABA and IBF Intercontinental welterweight titles. After making his debut in 2004, southpaw Dan eventually built up a 26-0 record before losing a controversial decision to Selcuk Aydin on points in 2010.

Three straight wins followed, and Dan- who was twice downed during the bout – again lost on points to Turkish fighter Selcuk Aydin. Since then, and to date, Dan’s most notable victory is his spit-decision IBF world title eliminator win over Kevin Bizier, which set up this clash with IBF champion Brook.

Brook v Dan Betting

IBF champ Brook is offered around 1/12, while challenger Dan is available at approximately 8/1. In terms of method of victory, Brook is priced at 4/6 to win by KO/TKO or DQ, or 6/4 to win on points, while Dan is 12/1 to win by KO/TKO or DQ, or 16/1 to win by a scorecard verdict.

The Brook v Dan Betting Verdict

Whilst he’s never been stopped, Jo Jo Dan’s hasn’t faced someone of Brook’s quality before and this could prove to be telling during the fight. But then, whilst ‘Special K’ will want to make an impression in light of a possible British super-fight with Amir Khan down the line, mentally he might be worried about over exerting pressure on his left leg and could box to a cautious points victory.

However, Dan’s come-forward, in-your-face style should force the Sheffield man into stopping him and I’m willing to take a chance on the bout ending in less than 10.5 rounds at 8/11. Just a small bet, though, as while Brook’s opponent has been picked to make him look good, that leg injury is a concern.

Worth a small punt: Under 10.5 rounds at 8/11

Of course, whether you do or don’t opt for a wager, have a great weekend and feel free to contact me on Twitter via@JCLaLiga if you have any questions or feedback.

Photo credits – Wikimedia (Creative Commons – Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0); Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.5); Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0); Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 1.0))

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