Jamel Herring Talks Pedraza Challenge, and Spence vs Brook

Jamel Herring will be proudly showing off his skills in front of ample friends and family July 15, when he gloves up on Long Island, his region, against Jose Pedraza on the first boxing card at the refurbished Nassau Coliseum in Hempstead.

The fighting pride of Coram chatted with NYF about this scrap, which is underneath the Robert Guerrero v Omar Figueroa 147 faceoff, and the light heavyweight rumble between Sean Monaghan and Marcus Browne, as well as the Saturday welterweight mashup between Brit Kell Brook and Texan Errol Spence.

First off, who does the 16-1 Herring (9 KOs; age 31; proud Marine) like in the Brook-Spence collision?

“Going with my American brother,” said Herring, who beat Art Hovhannisyan in February after taking an L at the hands of Denis Shafikov last sumer. “I really respect Kell, he made me a fan after the Porter fight but I believe Errol is just hungry to prove that he's the next best thing in not only just the welterweight division but boxing as a whole. It won't be an easy fight but I believe Errol's effective aggression and precision accuracy will be the main key. Not to mention we don't know if the weight or eye will play a factor on Kell's part.” He references the damage done by the heavy hands of Gennady Golovkin nine months ago, in Brook’s last outing…

Hey, has Herring ever sparred Errol? “I sparred him around 2010 ONCE! One of the most physically strong guys I've ever sparred and I normally spar guys bigger than me daily.”

Noted…

And how does Brook win Saturday? “Brook wins the same way he won in the Porter fight. Spence’s aggression is more effective than Porter's at times but Brook has to neutralize that with basic boxing. He has to constantly keep Spence on the end of his jab and tie him up when ever he gets in close because we all know that Spence will dig to the body. Brook also has to use angles the way he did in the Golovkin fight. Whenever he used angles in that fight he showed signs of success.”

Good analysis…

And speaking of that, Herring vs Pedraza. That’s a tasty undercard match. Pedraza (22-1, coming to 135 from 130; lost last time out to Gervonta Davis) in theory comes in hungry, after tasting defeat for the first time as a pro.

“Most definitely! A victory here will help me set up a chance for a world title shot in the near future!” And what does he see looking at Pedraza, before the upcoming PBC/Lou Dibella/Fox card? “He's a good boxer but you never know which Pedraza you're going to get,” Herring told me. “For example when he won the title he was sharp, but when he fought Edner Cherry most spectators including myself felt he lost. I know he bounced back against Stephen Smith but then we all witnessed what happen in his voluntary defense against Gervonta Davis. Overall I can't really focus on what he's going to do but I can make sure that I'm well prepared for the best Pedraza.”