Kell Brook shocks Amir Khan in a devastating fashion
- Kell Brook defeats bitter rival Amir Khan in front of 20,000 fans
- The fight, almost two decades in the making, was finally settled at the AO Arena in Manchester
- Terrence Crawford watched helplessly as his sparring partner Amir Khan was shocked
Kell ‘Special K’ Brook left no stone unturned in his bitter rivalry with former light-welterweight champion and Olympic silver medallist, Amir ‘King’ Khan.
Veteran referee Victor Loughlin sympathetically stopped the bout in the sixth round due to the relentless pace and barrage of punches by the Yorkshireman Kell Brook.
The fight was marketed by experts and promoters with the catchphrase: ‘speed’ vs ‘timing’.
‘Will the speed and overall boxing technicalities of Khan lead him to triumph or will the durability and conditioning of Kell Brook be too much for the native of Bolton?’
It turned out in this case, that timing was more reliable than speed.
Round one began with a ferocious pace as expected from fighters, who are said to despise each other.
Khan looked the sharpest – landing at a higher frequency and faster pace than his opponent (which was expected) – but a rapid jab-cross combination from Brook left Khan on wobbly legs to end the first round. 10 – 9 to Kell Brook.
Strikes
The rest of the fight was a one-sided affair with Brook pressure fighting and landing the significant strikes. Following a good exchange from Brook in the sixth round, the referee decided to put an end to the fight with Brook coming out victorious.
Going into the bout – both fighters are 35 – questions were raised on whether the loser will have to face the realities of possible retirement since both athletes have had their fair share of defeats throughout their careers.
Kell Brook was stopped by Gennadiy Gennadyevich Golovkin for the unified WBC, IBF, and IBO middleweight titles at the 02 Arena in London, back in 2016. Furthermore he suffered an even more heart-breaking defeat against Errol Spence Jr – the current unified IBF and WBC welterweight champion.
Meanwhile, Khan has notable losses from current pound-for-pound super-middleweight Canelo Alvarez and his previous fight to Terrence Crawford via doctors stoppage.
Since both fighters have been away from the ring for a combined five years – it’s certainly time for Amir Khan to consider hanging up his gloves.
“The training camp was good, but Kell was the better man,” said Khan.
“The Love for the sport is not there anymore.
“I will need to sit down with my family and evaluate the performance and see what the next step will be”.
Will Conor Benn, 25, be the next opponent for Kell Brook?
Is there a possible title fight ahead for the ‘Special One’ if he can overcome his next bout?