This weekend at the Sheffield Arena, UK, Kell Brook will be making the third defense of his IBF title against Kevin Bizier. Brook, Boxing Base’s No.1 Welterweight, is one of Britain’s most naturally gifted, refined boxer-punchers, who made his name on the international stage following a hard-fought decision over Shawn Porter in 2014.
Brook’s buzz has declined somewhat since, mainly due to numerous injuries and boxing politics which have resulted in fights with division’s top dogs falling through. Brook was even stabbed on vacation at one point, which must make him one of the game’s unluckiest mainstream stars.
Potential scraps with the likes of Diego Chavez – and dare I mention slippery domestic rival Amir Khan? – failed to materialize. While it’s frustrating for Brook’s fans, it’s hard to see too much red when the guy has been vigorously chasing down the biggest names since Porter. We all know what Brook is capable of but, in short, the building of his legacy seems to have been on hold for the past sixteen months.
During that period, Brook, 29, has taken care of only Jo Jo Dan and Frankie Gavin. Brook impressed with his elite repertoire and patient predator instincts, making mincemeat of both challengers. The pre-fight script suggested those guys would fall inside the distance, sure, although to be fair, perhaps not so quickly and in such one-sided fashion. Dan fell in 4 rounds, suffering three hard knockdowns along the way, while Gavin managed to keep Brook busy enough to see the 6th round before getting pummeled into oblivion.
If Brook is to keep dreams of a big stage Welterweight showdown alive, he will have to firstly take care of Quebec’s Kevin Bizier. While Bizier is probably Canada’s best 147-pounder at the moment, he’s yet to make a huge impression on the world stage. His record also suggests he’s likely out of Brook’s league.
Bizier, 31, has fought a common opponent in Jo Jo Dan twice, except his outings have paled drastically against Brook’s shutout performance. Bizier suffered both career defeats to Dan, falling on the wrong side of hard-fought Split Decisions. They were exciting fights, granted. While this doesn’t necessarily mean Bizier doesn’t have a shot in hell of winning on Saturday night, it’s hard to not make comparisons to Brook’s 5-round throttling of Dan.
But not all is bad with Bizier. In fact, if we stop looking ahead to bigger fights for Brook, we should note the fact that Bizier possesses some solid fundamentals. He’s a pretty solid character, with plenty of heart when he fights, and his November clash with undefeated Fredrick Lawson showcased those strengths. En route to a 10th round Retirement, Bizier demonstrated some mean combinations which, when coupled with crunching body attacks, made him pretty fierce. Fierce enough to rock and drop Lawson, and eventually break his jaw.
While Bizier is yet to be knocked down or out as a pro – I’m going off BoxRec here – that doesn’t mean things won’t be very different at the weekend. Bizier does tend to come forward in straight lines, meaning he’s often open to getting tagged. Against Brook, who once knocked out Hector Saldivia with a single jab, Bizier could find himself in deep waters.
No matter how you cut it, this is a big opportunity for Bizier, so it’s understandable why he’s jumped at the chance to face Brook. Bizier, being the IBF’s mandatory challenger and having performed on Showtime and PBC on NBC cards, should have plenty of mental strength going in.
Brook will climb through the ropes with a perfect 35 wins with 24 knockouts, and Bizier 25 wins with 17 knockouts and 2 defeats.
With all of the above considered, I’ll end with my prediction. I’ll tell you right now that I hope I’m wrong because, like every fight fan, I’d like nothing more than for this title fight to be an absolute barnburner. Be sure to turn in your own Brook vs Bizier forecasts in the comments.
Brook vs Bizier Prediction: Kell Brook via 5th Round KO/TKO
