Former IBF welterweight world champion Kell “Special K” Brook (38-2, 26 KOs) will return to the ring against Massachusetts southpaw Mark “The Bazooka” DeLuca (24-1, 13 KOs) at the FlyDSA Arena in Sheffield, England on February 8, shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US. Brook was inactive for all of 2019. DeLuca is stepping way up in class.
The card will also featuring Kid Galahad (26-1, 15 KOs) taking on Claudio Marrero (24-3, 17 KOs) in a final eliminator for the IBF featherweight crown, Terri Harper (9-0, 5 KOs) clashing with Eva Wahlstrom (23-1-2, 3 KOs) for the WBC female super featherweight title and the return of heavyweight Dave Allen (17-5-2, 14 KOs) after taking some time out of boxing following his defeat to David Price in July.
I think Marrero beats Galahad.
Marrero is a good fighter and certainly has the potential to defeat Galahad, but I think Galahad is highly motivated to make it back to the top again (and fight Warrington).
Marrero is usually in top shape and he can punch, so it should be a good fight. However, Marrero’s defense is questionable and he is vulnerable to get knocked out.
I think Galahad will win the fight against Marrero, mostly because he has better foot movement and much better speed. He doesn’t have a lot of power but he can box. So, I expect Galahad by UD.
This is a respectable tune-up fight for Brook.
Despite Brook’s ring rust, DeLuca shouldn’t pose much of a challenge for Brook, but DeLuca is certainly not a push over. DeLuca’s 24-1 record is not necessarily padded but still against relatively soft opponents.
Brook had broken eye sockets from his GGG and Spence fights, which may have a serious effect on his mind. After all, the doctors who treated Brook warned him that he could lose his vision if he would continue to box.
Brook has sufficient experience power to KO DeLuca, and I expect just that: a KO win within 10 rounds.
After this fight, Brook will know whether its worth the risk to continue with his boxing career or not. At least on paper, it seems that the risk for him to get into the ring with any of the elite fighters is too high – they would all target his eyes.
He isn’t related to Tony Bazooka Deluca is he?
Tony’s real name was Adam Marchulaitis. TBD was just a moniker.
Mark’s real name is Mark DeLuca.
Brook has been way too inactive and I can’t see him as a threat to anyone near the top now. Always liked Brook but in recent years he seems to have totally lost focus and what little focus he had seemed centred on one man who obviously doesn’t want the fight