Kell Brook vs. Matthew Hatton
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Ezekiel "Kell" Brook (born 3 May 1986) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2022. He held the
IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
welterweight title from 2014 to 2017, and challenged once for a unified
middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...
world title in 2016. At regional level, he held multiple welterweight titles, including the British welterweight title from 2008 to 2010. In May 2017, Brook was ranked as the world's best active welterweight by '' The Ring'' magazine.


Amateur career

Brook had his first amateur fight at age 12 under the guidance of
Brendan Ingle Brendán Îngle (19 June 1940 – 25 May 2018) was an Irish boxing trainer, manager and former professional boxer based in Sheffield, England. Ingle trained four world champions in total at his Wincobank gym, including Johnny Nelson, "Prince" ...
. At the end of his amateur career, he had won 31 of his 36 fights, winning two Amateur Boxing Association of England titles and two National Association of Boys Clubs British Boxing Championships and a gold medal in the 4 Nations. An early inspiration for Brook was Naseem Hamed, who was also trained by Ingle at the same Wincobank gym.


Professional career


Welterweight


Early career

Brook's first fight as a professional took place in September 2004 with a 6-round points victory over experienced journeyman Peter Buckley at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield. He would fight again four more times that year to end 2004 with a record of 5–0 in just four months. Brook went about learning his trade against a host of journeymen before getting the opportunity in June 2008 to fight for the British welterweight title having compiled a winning record of 16–0.


Domestic and regional success

The championship fight at London's York Hall saw Kell Brook take on Welshman
Barrie Jones Barrie Jones may refer to: * Barrie Jones (footballer), Welsh footballer * Barrie Jones (cricketer), New Zealand cricketer * Barrie R. Jones, British-New Zealand ophthalmologist and ophthalmic surgeon See also * Barry Jones (disambiguation)
for the vacant title. The fight was not without controversy however as the previous incumbent, Kevin McIntyre, had been stripped of the title after he sustained an injury and had to pull out of his scheduled defence against the Yorkshireman. Brook ended up winning the vacant title with a seventh-round technical knockout (TKO) of Jones who had come in at relatively short notice. Having won the title Brook was then ordered to face the former champion and the bout took take place in Glasgow's
Kelvin Hall The Kelvin Hall, located on Argyle Street in Glasgow, Scotland, is one of the largest exhibition centres in Britain and now a mixed-use arts and sports venue that opened as an exhibition venue in 1927. It has also been used as a concert hall, ...
on 14 November 2008. Prior to the fight and referring to the bad blood that has built up between the two fighter's Brook said, ''"''Once I knock out McIntyre in style then there will be no question mark over who should be British champion." When the fight finally did happen, Brook put McIntyre down three times in the first round to win by TKO to send the Glasgow crowd home disappointed. On 30 January 2009 Brook returned to the York Hall to meet former marine Stuart Elwell in a voluntary second defence. The fight again ended quickly when the referee stopped the fight in the second round, handing victory to Brook. He claimed the
Lonsdale belt The Lord Lonsdale Challenge Belt, commonly known as the Lonsdale Belt, is the oldest championship belt in British professional boxing. Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale, introduced the prize on behalf of the National Sporting Club (NSC), inten ...
outright on 20 July 2009 when making his third defence against Prizefighter winner Michael Lomax. The fight, at the
MEN Arena Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the Manchester city centre, city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights s ...
in Manchester, was on the undercard to Amir Khan's world championship victory over
Andreas Kotelnik Andriy Mykolayovich Kotelnyk ( uk, Андрій Миколайович Котельник; born 29 December 1977), best known by germanicized name Andreas Kotelnik, is a Ukrainian professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2014, and held the W ...
and saw Brook win by TKO in the third round. After the fight Brook said that he believed he was the best in Britain but couldn't say for sure until he's beaten
Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...
's Michael Jennings who he challenged to a match-up. On 25 September 2009, Brook pipped fellow champion Nathan Cleverly for the prestigious title of Young British Boxer of the Year award, as voted for by the Boxing Writer's Club. The vote was the closest in the history of the award with Brook claiming the honour by one vote over Cleverly who held both the British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles. In winning the award Brook joined a list of boxers which included the likes of
Ken Buchanan Ken Buchanan Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 28 June 1945) is a Scottish retired professional boxer from Edinburgh and the former List of undisputed boxing champions, undisputed world lightweight champion.Reg Gutteridge, Gutteridge, Reg" ...
,
John H Stracey John Henry Stracey MBE (born 22 September 1950) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1969 to 1978. He is a former welterweight world champion, having held the WBC and lineal welterweight titles between 1975 and 1976. At regio ...
, Barry McGuigan, Nigel Benn, Naseem Hamed, Joe Calzaghe and Amir Khan. Brook's first fight of 2010 took place in Liverpool on 12 March 2010. The fight, for the
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
Inter-Continental title, pitched Brook against Poland's Krzysztof Bienias, a man last beaten by Junior Witter in 2005 and with a run of seventeen straight wins. Brook collected his second career title when in the sixth round the fight was stopped by the referee following a dominant display by the Yorkshireman. Brook's long-awaited fight against Michael Jennings was due to be next on 3 July 2010 until a rib injury forced the fight to be postponed for a second time. The fight, for Brook's British title was then scheduled to take place between Jennings and former Commonwealth welterweight champion John O'Donnell before O'Donnell pulled out and was then rescheduled between Brook and Jennings. Finally, on 18 September 2010 Brook boxed Michael Jennings at the LG Arena in Birmingham. Brook defeated Jennings via fifth-round TKO after the latter sustained a cut, with the referee deeming the injury too severe for the bout to continue. The win doubled as Brooks's fourth defence of his British title and the first defence of his WBO regional title. On 9 December 2010 Brook made his second defence of his WBO Inter-Continental title, defeating Phillip Kotey via second-round TKO. The win ensured that Brook kept his number one ranking with the WBO. On 8 April 2011 Brook split from promoter Frank Warren and joined the Matchroom Sport boxing stable under Eddie Hearn, with Brook saying that he was "really buzzing" to have joined the outfit. Hearn said that he was "excited about adding Kell to our stable". Speaking of Brook he said "Kell oozes class and has that something special about him – in short he is going to be a superstar." Brook's first contest for the promotional outfit was on 25 June 2011 at the Hillsborough Leisure Centre in Sheffield and resulted in a twelve-round unanimous decision (UD) victory against Lovemore N'dou, capturing the vacant WBA Inter-Continental title in the process.


Miscellaneous wins

On 17 March 2012, Kell Brook took his undefeated run to 27 fights by beating
Matthew Hatton Matthew James "Matty" Hatton (born 15 May 1981) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2013. He held the European welterweight title from 2010 to 2011, and challenged once for the WBC light-middleweight title in the l ...
, brother of Ricky Hatton, by UD in Sheffield. The scores were 119–107, 119–108 and 118–109 all in favour of Brook. In front of nearly 10,000 fans at the Motorpoint Arena, Brook added the
IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
International welterweight title to his WBA Inter-Continental title. Brook floored Hatton in the ninth round but could not knock out his
Mancunian Mancunian is the associated adjective and demonym of Manchester, a city in North West England. It may refer to: *Anything from or related to the city of Manchester or the county of Greater Manchester, in particular: **The people of Manchester (see ...
opponent. The fight gave record breaking viewing figures for Sky Sports' Fight Night Live programme as well as being the most watched fight of the year in Britain. Afterwards he said on the prospect of facing Khan: "Of course I want Khan, I've been banging on about Amir Khan, but I'm going to do my own thing and if that fight happens, it happens, and I'll smash him. I want to be fighting at that top table now with elite fighters. I think I've proved I deserve to be there." Brook faced
Carson Jones Carson Jones (born August 19, 1986) is an American professional boxer at welterweight and the former USBA welterweight champion. He is also the former NABA light-middle weight champion, the former WBC Continental Americas light-middle weight cham ...
at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield on Saturday 7 July 2012. Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Sport promoted the fight with it being billed "Edge of Glory" as both fighters saw this fight as a stepping stone to a shot at a world title. The fight was shown live on Sky Sports 1. The weigh in took place in Sheffield's Winter Gardens on 6 July with Brook weighing in at 10 st 6 lb 10 oz (60.16 kg) and Jones weighing slightly less at 10 st 6 lb 6 oz (60.04 kg). Brook dominated the early rounds, moving well and connecting regularly with two and three punch combinations. However, as the fight went on he began to tire and Jones was able to land shots of his own. Brook's nose was broken in the eighth round. He was almost floored in the final round but was able to hold on until the bell. Brook did enough in the early rounds to win the fight by
majority decision A majority decision (MD) is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking. In a majority decision, two of the three judges agree on which ...
(MD), as the judges' scorecards read 114–114, 116–113, and 115–113 in Brook's favour. Brook was taken to hospital after the fight due to blood loss from his broken nose. In August 2012 Matchroom Sport announced that Brook would face veteran Hector Saldivia at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield on 20 October 2012. The winner would then become the
mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight or be forced to vacate their title as champion. A mandatory defence is the opposite of a voluntary defence, where the champi ...
for the IBF welterweight title held at the time by
Randall Bailey Randall Bailey (born September 13, 1974) is an American professional boxer. A veteran of the sport for over twenty years, he is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBO light welterweight title from 1999 to 2000, and t ...
. At a packed weigh-in the day before the fight at Sheffield's
Meadowhall Centre Meadowhall is an indoor shopping centre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It lies north-east of Sheffield city centre, and from Rotherham town centre. It is the largest shopping centre in Yorkshire, and currently the eleventh-largest i ...
, both fighters weighed in under the 147 lbs limit. Brook started strongly, knocking Saldivia down midway through the first round. The second round was very similar with Saldivia unable to deal with Brook's accuracy and power. In the third Brook landed a solid, well timed straight which sent the Argentinian to the floor again. This time he struggled to get up as his legs wobbled beneath him and the referee stopped the contest in the third round.


Brook vs. Alexander cancellation

After becoming the mandatory challenger, Brook was set to fight
Devon Alexander Devon Alexander (born February 10, 1987) is an American professional boxer. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the unified WBC and IBF light welterweight titles in 2010, and the IBF welterweight title from 2012 to ...
for the world title on 19 January 2013 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. However, Brook announced he had sustained an ankle injury and the fight was pushed back until 23 February 2013 and the venue changed to the
Masonic Temple A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history In ...
in Detroit, Michigan. Then Alexander announced he had a bicep injury causing the fight to be rescheduled yet again to 18 May 2013 in
Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.
. However, Brook would later pull out of the fight again after injuring his foot, scrapping the fight for a third time, with fellow Brit and Matchroom stablemate Lee Purdy taking his place and going on to lose via seventh-round corner retirement (RTD).


Brook vs. Jones II, Senchenko

After the saga with Devon Alexander Jr., Brook took a rematch with Carson Jones in
Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...
on 13 July 2013. Brook took the early rounds of this contest looking far too powerful and quick for the American. Brook went on to win by eighth-round TKO to take his record to 30–0. It was announced shortly after the rematch with Jones that Brook would next face Vyacheslav Senchenko at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield on 26 October 2013. Senchenko had recently beaten Ricky Hatton, causing him to retire for good from boxing. Brook said he was using this as motivation and wanted to "get revenge" for a British boxing hero and a personal friend within the sport. Hatton was ringside for the fight and spoke to Brook in the dressing room just prior to the fight. The first and second rounds were very cagey encounters with neither fighter wanting to give too much away, with Brook using his jab more effectively and taking both the rounds. In the third Brook knocked his opponent down with a powerful right, forcing Senchenko to take the eight count before continuing. Brook started the fourth strongly by out-boxing his Ukrainian opponent, although Senchenko did unsteady Brook for a few seconds before Brook sent Sencheko back to the canvas with another right. Referee Shada Murdaugh concluded that Senchenko was in no position to continue and Brook was declared the winner by TKO.


Brook vs. Porter

After beating Senchenko, Brook was once again the mandatory challenger for the IBF welterweight title and faced newly crowned champion
Shawn Porter Shawn Christian Porter (born October 27, 1987) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2021. He is a two-time former welterweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2013 to 2014 and the WBC title from 2018 ...
on 16 August 2014 at the StubHub Center in
Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...
. Porter was the favorite to win and came out aggressively as he pressurised Brook, relying heavily on looping shots. Brook kept his composure, however, and showcased his defensive attributes, strength, and clean punching throughout the fight. Brook's technical ability took over after the middle rounds as the straight one-two combinations hurt Porter. Brook defeated Porter, capturing the title by a MD with scores 114–114, 116–112, and 117–111. Brook landed 158 of his 441 punches (36%), mostly jabs. Porter threw 308 more power punches, in total landing 156 of 626 thrown (25%). Porter felt as though he won the fight, "I thought that I was effective with my attack, but he was ready. I'm not giving any excuses. I want the rematch. I'll find him where he's at, and I'll take it from him." Brook claimed he wanted an all-British showdown with Amir Khan. The fight did not generate as many viewers as expected, an average of 661,000 viewers on
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
. The whole card averaged just 514,000 viewers.


Brook vs. Dan, Gavin

Six months after sustaining a life-threatening injury, it was confirmed that Brook would finally make the first defence of his IBF title against mandatory challenger
Jo Jo Dan Jo Jo Dan (born Ionuț Dan Ion; 9 August 1981) is a Romanian professional boxer and world title challenger. He currently fights out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Professional boxing career Dan made his professional debut in 2004. On 30 November ...
(34–2, 18 KOs). The fight took place on 28 March 2015 in Brook's home town, Sheffield. Dan became the mandatory after beating Kevin Bizier in December 2014 via
split decision A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor. A split dec ...
(SD). Brook came out landing straight punches. In round two, a straight right hand wobbled Dan. Brook followed up with a right uppercut that sent Dan to the canvas. Soon after, Brook landed two straight right hands, the first wobbling Dan and the second creating another knockdown. In the fourth round, Brook threw a straight right and left hand that hurt Dan and followed up with a furry that resulted in the third knockdown. The final knockdown was scored at the bell with a counter left hand. Dan's corner subsequently stopped the fight in between rounds. The fight was broadcast live in the afternoon on Showtime in USA averaging 143,000 viewers and peaked at 166,000 viewers. A replay aired in the evening averaging 230,000 viewers, peaking 284,000 viewers. On 10 April 2015, Matchroom Sport announced that Brook would be making his second defence in the space of two months against Frankie Gavin (22–2, 13 KOs) at the
O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decemb ...
on 30 May on Sky Sport Box Office with a strong undercard including Lee Selby, Kevin Mitchell and Olympic gold medalist
Anthony Joshua Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua (born 15 October 1989) is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles twice between 2016 and 2021. At r ...
. The bout was known for being the first all-British welterweight world title fight. Brook successfully defended his IBF title for the second time. Brook landed his jab from the start and picked up the pace as the fight went on, cutting off the ring and walking through his opponent. Gavin remained defensive but did occasionally find success. In round six, Brook showed versatility in throwing a variety of combinations, mixing soft and hard punches, while Gavin attempted to avoid trading. As Brook landed an uppercut however, Gavin exchanged a right hand, which was countered by Brook's straight left hand. Gavin staggered back to the ropes, and the referee stopped the fight as Brook threw another flurry.


Brook vs. Bizier

On 2 September 2015, Hearn announced a deal had been reached for Brook to defend his title against Argentine slugger Diego Chaves (23–2–1, 19 KOs), after a deal could not be made with Brandon Rios. The fight was scheduled to take place at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield on 24 October, which would be Brook's third fight in seven months. Brook praised Chavez ahead of the fight, "Chaves is a rough, tough, durable fighter who is very dangerous. He's bringing something new to the table. He's coming off a draw to Tim Bradley, was ahead on the cards against Brandon Rios until he was disqualified and gave Keith Thurman a solid fight, so we know what level he has mixed at and how good he is." The fight was postponed and ultimately cancelled on 16 October after Brook injured his ribs during a sparring session. The rest of the card still took place as scheduled. In January 2016, it was announced that after nearly a year without fighting, Brook would make a third defence of his IBF title against mandatory challenger Kevin Bizier (25–2, 17 KOs) at the Sheffield Arena on 26 March. Hearn and Bizier's promoter Yvon Michel agreed a deal to avoid purse bids. Bizier became the mandatory after knocking out Fredrick Lawson on 7 November 2015 in Miami, Florida. Brook stopped Bizier in the second round. En route to landing a 'big fight', Brook rocked Bizier with a left to the jaw and then further dazed him with a series of hooks. After taking a count, Bizier did not look that interested in carrying on and Brook unleashed a combination that left the Canadian crumpled in a heap. This was Brook's second mandatory fight since winning the IBF title in 2014. After the bout, Brook and Hearn talked about potential unification fights against the likes of Tim Bradley,
Danny García Danny Óscar Garcia (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the unified WBA (Super), WBC, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal light welterweight titles betwe ...
, Keith Thurman and
Jesse Vargas Jessie Vargas (born May 10, 1989) is an American professional boxer. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA (Regular) and IBO super lightweight titles in 2014, and the WBO welterweight title in 2016. As of Aug ...
.


Jessie Vargas negotiations

It was announced on 12 May 2016 that negotiations for a unification fight with WBO titleholder
Jessie Vargas Jessie Vargas (born May 10, 1989) is an American professional boxer. He is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA (Regular) and IBO super lightweight titles in 2014, and the WBO welterweight title in 2016. As of Augu ...
(27–1, 10 KOs) were under way. Eddie Hearn told ''Sky Sports'' he had "offered a huge amount of money" to make the fight happen and while he conceded Brook might have to travel to America, Vargas insisted he was willing to cross the Atlantic. Danny García, the
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
champion, was top of the list, but Hearn conceded the Vargas fight looked more likely. Hearn said the fight will take place on 20 August, 27 August, or 3 September at
Bramall Lane Bramall Lane is a association football, football stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which is the home of Sheffield United F.C., Sheffield United. The stadium was originally a cricket ground, built on a road named after the Bramal ...
in Sheffield. Vargas confirmed via his Twitter account that the bout was set for 3 September. Negotiations fell through on 9 July for the unification title fight, when it was announced that Brook would be moving up two weight divisions to challenge
Gennady Golovkin Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin (Cyrillic: ; also spelled Gennady; born 8 April 1982), often known by his nickname "GGG" or "Triple G", is a Kazakhstani professional boxer. He has held multiple middleweight world championships, and is a two-time ...
instead.


Middleweight


Brook vs. Golovkin

On 8 July 2016, it was announced that Brook would face undefeated, unified WBA (Super),
WBC WBC may stand for: Business *Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, a former large India broadcaster now folded into CBS *Westpac (New Delhi Exchange code: WBC), a multinational Financial services company *Wholesale Broadband Connect, BT Wholesale's ...
,
IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...
, and IBO middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (35–0, 32 KOs). The fight took place on 10 September 2016 at the O2 Arena in London. There were negotiations for Golovkin to fight
Chris Eubank Jr. Christopher Livingstone Eubank Jr (born 18 September 1989) is a British professional boxer. He has held multiple championships in two weight classes, including the WBA interim middleweight title twice between 2015 and 2021; the IBO super-midd ...
However, negotiations fell through and Brook agreed to move up two weight divisions to challenge Golovkin. The fight aired in the US on
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
and on Sky Box Office
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
in the UK. On 5 September, the WBA withdrew its sanction for the fight. Although they granted Golovkin a special permit to take the fight, they stated that their title would not be at stake. The reason for the withdrawal was because Brook had never competed in the middleweight division. WBA president Gilberto Mendoza Jr. said, "What I most regret is that there are no boxers at 160 pounds who will fight against 'Triple G,' and Brook has to move up two divisions to fight against him." The Golovkin camp were said to be disappointed with the decision with promoter Tom Loeffler saying, "somehow the WBA thought it was too dangerous for a welterweight to move up to middleweight to fight the biggest puncher in boxing. I guess that is a compliment to GGG as they sanctioned drien Broner moving up two divisions
rom lightweight to welterweight Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...
to fight
Paulie Malignaggi Paul "Paulie" Malignaggi (; ; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2017 and has since worked as a boxing commentator and analyst. He held world championships in two weight classes, including ...
in 2013, and
Roy Jones Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, incl ...
moving up two divisions
rom light heavyweight to heavyweight Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...
to fight
John Ruiz John Ruiz (born January 4, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2010, and held the WBA heavyweight title twice between 2001 and 2005. Ruiz is of Puerto Rican descent, and is the first Latino boxer to win a wo ...
n 2003 N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
for WBA titles, and Kell Brook is undefeated and considered a top pound-for-pound boxer." On the night, Brook was staggered early in the first round, but kept his composure, growing stronger as the rounds unfolded. In the opening rounds, he was trading blows with Golovkin but suffered a damaged eye socket, and after heavy punishment in the fifth, trainer Dominic Ingle threw in the towel to hand Brook the first defeat of his professional career, losing by TKO. Despite this, Brook won many admirers for his spirited performance and stepping up two weight divisions to make the fight. Ingle confirmed Brook had gone through surgery successfully. According to CompuBox punch stats, Golovkin landed 133 of his 301 punches thrown (44.2%), whilst Brook landed 85 punches, having thrown 261 (32.6%). The fight was aired live on HBO in the afternoon and drew an average of 843,000 viewers and peaked at 907,000 viewers. This was considered to be a huge success for an afternoon showing. A replay was shown later in the evening as part of the world super flyweight title fight between Roman Gonzalez and
Carlos Cuadras Carlos Roberto Cuadras Quiroa (born August 24, 1988) is a Mexican professional boxer who held the WBC super flyweight title from 2014 to 2016. As an amateur he won a gold medal in the bantamweight division at the 2007 Pan American Games. A ...
. The replay averaged 593,000 viewers.


Return to welterweight


Brook vs. Spence Jr.

In January 2017, Brook and his team were in talks with Amir Khan over a potential grudge fight, whilst also keeping the mandatory fight with
Errol Spence Jr. Errol Spence Jr. (born March 3, 1990) is an American professional boxer. He is currently a unified welterweight world champion, having held the IBF title since May 2017, the WBC title since September 2019, and the WBA (Super) since April 2022. ...
as second choice. During negotiations, Khan urged Brook to fight Spence first and eventually talks broke down between Brook and Khan. Eddie Hearn mentioned talks were already ongoing with Spence's manager
Al Haymon Al Haymon (born April 21, 1955) is an American businessman and boxing manager. He was the manager of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and has won the Boxing Writers of America Manager of the Year Award five times. Early life Haymon was raised in Cleveland, ...
for a fight to take place possibly in the UK in May. Hearn received an extension from the IBF for negotiations between himself and TGB Promotions boss Tom Brown, as they were progressing. The purse bids for the fight were set for 7 February by the IBF. On 1 February, Hearn claimed that Brook would be keeping his title and making a defence against Spence and that he had reached out to Spence's team, to no reply. He assumed that they wanted the fight to go to purse bids. Spence said that he had no problem travelling to the UK for the fight, regardless of negotiations. With a deal close to being reached a day before the purse bids, the IBF granted a week extension, pushing the purse bid back 7 days. On 13 February a deal was reached for the fight to take place in Sheffield on 20 May 2017. At a press conference at Bramall Lane, Sheffield on 22 March, the fight was officially announced to take place on 27 May 2017 live on Sky Box Office in the UK and Showtime in the US. In front of 27,000 fans in attendance, Brook lost his IBF welterweight title after being stopped in round eleven. In a fight where mostly power shots were landed, Spence threw combinations to the head and more to the body, wearing down Brook. Brook did well working the counter, and landed his own shots to the body, but Spence came back with his own shots. In round ten, Spence, having Brook against the ropes, unloaded some heavy power shots, which caused Brook to take a knee. In round eleven, before the fight was stopped, Brook motioned many times that he couldn't see through his left eye and voluntarily took a knee, again counting as a knockdown. The referee started the ten count which Brook couldn't make, giving him back to back defeats and his first as a welterweight. His trainer Dominic Ingle was also on the apron before the fight was officially stopped. At the time of stoppage, all three judges had Spence ahead on their scorecards with 97–92, 96–93, and 95–94. In the post-fight interview, Brook credited Spence, admitting he lost to the better boxer, "It was a very tough fight. I would say Spence is one of the best kids I’ve been in with, if not the best. I got caught in the seventh round, in the eye, and it felt like the same as in the Golovkin ight Probably not as bad as that time, but I was getting hit on it over the rounds and it was getting worse. The last round, he caught me in it and I just stood there, double vision, and I couldn't see out of the eye ..so I had to stop." Spence landed 246 of 633 punches thrown (39%) whilst Brook landed 136 of 442 (31%). For the fight, Spence earned around £1 million and Brook earned a guaranteed £3 million. The fight was shown in the afternoon in the US on Showtime and averaged 291,000 viewers, peaking at 337,000 viewers. This was considered low numbers, even for an afternoon showing, possibly due to it being a holiday weekend. Brook spoke to Sky Sports the following day and confirmed that a CT scan showed he had broken his eye socket, meaning he would likely have surgery.


Light-middleweight

On 30 May 2017, Brook admitted he may have to move up to
light-middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the International Boxing Federation, IBF or ...
. Brook had successful surgery on his eye in June 2017 and said that he would start training again in the summer looking to make a ring return in late 2017. On 21 November, promoter Eddie Hearn announced that Brook would be moving up to light-middleweight in hopes of becoming a two-weight world champion. In an interview, Brook stated that he would return at light-middleweight for the sake of his health, however could still return to welterweight afterwards.


Brook vs. Rabchenko

Eddie Hearn, on 11 December 2017, announced that Brook would return to Sheffield at the FlyDSA Arena on 3 March 2018 against former European champion
Sergey Rabchenko Sergey Rabchenko (birth name: Siarhei Rabchanka, born 23 February 1986 in Minsk) is a Belarusian professional boxer. He currently fights in the light middleweight division. Professional career After an amateur career which consisted of 217 wins f ...
(29–2, 22 KOs) on Sky Sports. Rabchenko is known for fighting in the UK on some occasions, most notably defeating Brook's fellow gym buddy
Ryan Rhodes Ryan Rhodes (born 20 November 1976) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2012. He held the British super welterweight title twice, from 1996 to 1997 and in 2008, and the EBU European super welterweight title from 200 ...
in 2012. Rabchenko was ranked #5 by the WBC at the time. The WBC Silver light-middleweight title would be at stake for the fight. Brook weighed 153.4 pounds while Rabchenko weighed 153.7 pounds. Brook stopped Rabchenko in round two to claim the vacant WBC Silver title. In round one, Brook used his jab and right hand, with Rabchenko on the back foot leaving himself open. In round two, Brook hurt Rabchenko with a right uppercut. The shot wobbled Rabchenko, causing him to back up on unsteady legs. Brook then hit Rabchenko with a straight right hand to the head which put him down. Rabchenko slowly got to his feet at the count of nine, however clearly hurt, referee Steve Gray halted the fight at 1 minute 27 seconds of round two. In the post-fight interview, Brook said, "I've put everyone in the division on notice. It was all about getting timing right, and I was getting it right. Timing beats speed. I felt very comfortably. I've only gone up 10 pounds from yesterday. I needed to get back to winning ways. I'm back at it." Along with Hearn, Brook stated he would put pressure on rival Amir Khan for a future fight. On 24 May, promoter Hearn confirmed Brook would return to the ring in July 2018. At the time, no specific date or venue was stated. It was also said that Brook would look to challenge for a world title after the bout in July, likely to be WBA and IBF light-middleweight champion
Jarrett Hurd Jarrett Hurd (born August 31, 1990) is an American professional boxer. He is a former unified light middleweight world champion, having held the WBA (Super), IBF and IBO titles between 2017 and 2019. As of September 2019, Hurd is ranked as the ...
. Hearn made it known that he was interested in the Hurd fight. 28 July was the date set for Brook's return. On 13 June, it was announced that Brook would appear on the undercard of Dillian Whyte vs. Joseph Parker at The O2 Arena against Brandon Cook in a title eliminator. During the early days of July, there were rumours stating Brook had suffered an injury and would withdraw from the bout. On 14 July, Cook confirmed that the bout had been cancelled pending an official announcement from Hearn. It appeared Brook had injured his ankle and would be out of action until November 2018. On 19 July, Sam Eggington replaced Brook, keeping Cook on the card. Eggington suffered a cut in training a few days later and also withdrew from the bout. Hearn offered Cook a monetary compensation.


Brook vs. Zerafa

In early October 2018, it was reported that Brook and Khan had made some progress in their ongoing negotiations. With Brook stating that 147 pounds would not be an issue, Khan demanded they include a 10-pound rehydration limit, which meant neither boxer could weigh over 157 pounds on the morning of the fight. Brook rejected the idea and insisted they fight at catchweight. On 19 October, according to ''The Sheffield Star'', Brook had split with longtime trainer Dominic Ingle. The same reports stated Brook would train with longtime friend John Fewkes. Ingle denied rumours that he and Brook had a falling out. Fewkes stated it was the first he had heard of the news. On 27 October, Brook told Sky Sports that he would be returning to the ring at the FlyDSA Arena in Sheffield on 8 December 2018. Although an opponent was not named, it was speculated it would be Michael Zerafa, as Zerafa later spoke out confirming he would cause on upset and then challenge Khan himself. Brook was ranked #2 by the WBA and WBC, #4 by the WBO and #5 by the IBF while Zerafa was ranked #8 by the WBA at super welterweight. On 29 October, Brook denied he had split with Ingle, however confirmed that because Ingle was in Canada training other fighters, he would keep his camp in
Fuerteventura Fuerteventura () is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, part of the North Africa region, and politically part of Spain. It is located away from the northwestern coast of Africa. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNES ...
, therefore Ingle would not be in his corner for the fight. On 5 November, Zerafa (25–2, 14 KOs) was confirmed as Brook's opponent. Showing that he could easily make the 147 limit, Brook weighed in 150 pounds, compared to Zerafa, who weighed 153 pounds. It was said the bout would be a final eliminator for Jarrett Hurd's WBA title. In front of his hometown crowd, Brook put on a below-par performance to defeat Zerafa via twelve-round UD to become the WBA mandatory challenger. The three judges scored the fight comfortably in Brook's favour with 119–109, 118–110, and 117–111. Brook started the fight quick, landing shots on Zerafa in the opening couple of rounds. He started to then slow down his workrate and by the midway point, his punch output began to drop. Brook, although landed plenty himself, allowed himself to be hit more than usual. It was the first time Brook went the twelve round distance since 2014 when he won the IBF title against Porter. After the fight, Brook admitted he was not at his best and also stated his performance might tempt a lot of boxers to now get in the ring with him. Hearn also voiced his opinion, stating Amir Khan should take the fight next. Brook's new trainer John Fewkes stated the performance was not his best as he 'tried too hard', but also raised the positive point that it should now entice other boxers to fight him. In the post-fight press conference, Brook accepted Khan's rehydration request that he would weigh no more than 157 pounds on fight night. A few days later, Hearn made it public that he had offered Khan an £8m flat fee, plus an upside of the revenue to fight Brook. The offer was made a week after Top Rank offered Khan a flat fee of £3.9m to face WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford.


Brook vs. DeLuca

After a layoff of 14 months, Brook returned to the ring on 8 February 2020 to face Mark DeLuca for the vacant
WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
Inter-Continental light-middleweight title. Brook was ranked #10 by the WBC while DeLuca was ranked #7 by the WBA at super welterweight. Brook knocked his opponent down in the third round and ultimately won by seventh-round knockout when he connected with a strong left hook.


Return to welterweight


Brook vs. Crawford, Khan

On 14 November 2020, Brook moved back down to the welterweight division and attempted to become a two-time welterweight champion when he faced undefeated Terence Crawford in
Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...
for his WBO world title. In the fourth round, Crawford caught Brook with a stiff, hard right jab, and the referee administered a standing count to the latter. The fight continued, but Crawford quickly landed a flurry of shots which prompted the referee to step in and halt the contest, making Crawford the winner by fourth-round technical knockout. On November 29th 2021, It was announced that Brook would face long time rival Amir Khan on February, 19th 2022 at the AO Arena in Manchester, England in a 149 catchweight bout. Brook dominated and battered Khan to score a 6th round TKO.


Retirement

Brook announced his retirement from boxing in May 2022.


Outside of boxing

Brook has been involved in two stabbing incidents, the first in Sheffield in 2007. Secondly, on 4 September 2014, whilst on holiday with his pregnant wife in Tenerife, Brook was stabbed in the leg, in what he said was an unprovoked attack. The incident took place around 2 a.m. local time at Golf del Sur in
San Miguel de Abona San Miguel de Abona is a town and a municipality in the southern part of the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, and part of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. The TF-1 motorway passes through the southern part of the mun ...
. A spokeswoman stated that he had lost a lot of blood. There were no immediate arrests. It was later reported that Brook had been stabbed three times in the leg and once in the arm. Brook spoke about the attack whilst in hospital, "I was out enjoying a night out before returning home to the UK when I was the victim of an unprovoked attack. I’m devastated right now after being on such a high having achieved my dream of becoming world champion in Los Angeles last month. This is obviously a major setback. I want to thank everyone for their support and ask for privacy for myself and my family at this time. Make no mistake – I will be back."


Professional boxing record


References


External links

*
Kell Brook profile
at Matchroom Boxing
Kell Brook - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings
a
Box.Live
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brook, Kell 1986 births English male boxers Black British sportspeople Sportspeople from Sheffield English people of Jamaican descent Living people World welterweight boxing champions International Boxing Federation champions British Boxing Board of Control champions Middleweight boxers Light-middleweight boxers