By Ian S Palmer
England’s Kell Brook will be defending his IBF Welterweight Title in a mandatory defence against Kevin Bizier of Canada this Saturday, March 26th at the Sheffield Arena in England. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the UK on Sky Sports. Brook is undefeated with a perfect record of 35-0 along with 24 Kos while Bizier has a mark of 25-2 with 16 Kos and isn’t very well known to boxing fans, not even in Canada. Most fans would rather see Brook defending his crown against a better known opponent, but it’s not his choice this time around as it’s a mandatory defence.
The 29-year-old Brook last fought in May against another lesser known opponent in Frankie Gavin. Brook is an underrated boxer with decent power and won his title by upsetting former champion Shawn Porter of the U.S. by a close majority decision in August of 2014. He’s stopped five of his past seven opponents and has good hand speed to go along with a fine uppercut. He’s a good, solid boxer who sometimes tires towards the end of fights though. He’s fought just twice outside of his homeland, but won the title in one of those road trips to America.
The 31-year-old Bizier has decent power and he’s won four of his past five contests. His last outing resulted in a 10-round stoppage victory against Fredrick Lawson. He’s good defensively, mixes up his punches well, and has a solid chin. Bizier’s taking a huge step up in class this weekend though since he hasn’t been in the ring against any elite opponents as of yet. This will be the Canadian’s second fight outside of his homeland and his first in the UK. His two losses have both been against Ionut (Jo Jo) Dan Ion by split decision. Brook stopped Dan in four rounds back in March of last year.
Bizier needs to worry more about offence than defence on Saturday night. There’s no way he’s going to win the title if he doesn’t throw and land punches against the champion. This could very well be his one and only world title shot and he needs to make the best of it if he hopes to make a name for himself and getter some bigger paydays against top-10 opponents in the future. He’ll need to force the action if Brook decides to take a round off and keep him on the back foot by initiating things.
Prediction
It’s hard to see Brook losing his title to Bizier as long as he fights to his strengths and stays focused. He can’t take the Canadian too lightly and will need to use his speed and superior boxing skills. He’s not going to win simply by showing up as he will need to work hard if he hopes to retain his title. Look for Brook to keep his belt by a stoppage in the second half of the fight or by a relatively comfortable decision.
