It was a successful junior middleweight coronation for “The Special One”.

Former IBF welterweight titleholder Kell Brook looked sharp and powerful in a second-round knockout over former European champion Sergey Rabchenko at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England, on Saturday. The bout was scheduled for 12.

Brook, the former IBF welterweight titleholder, pierced the Belarusian’s guard with a stunning right uppercut in Round 2 and a follow-up right to the temple put Rabchenko on the canvas. The visitor gamely tried to get up but was counted out by referee Steve Gray. The official time was 1:27.

“You thought you got rid of me,” said Brook in his post-fight interview with Sky Sports. “I’m putting everyone on notice. I’m the ‘Terminator’ and I’ll be back. I’m back now. I’m here to stay. I love the sport.

“It was all about getting my timing right tonight. I just needed to settle down and I was timing these shots that buckled him. The temple shot done him. It’s all about timing.”

This was Brook’s first victory since March 2016. In the interim, he lost back-to-back fights to unified middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin (TKO5) and to Errol Spence (KO10) who put an end to his welterweight title reign.

Brook (37-2, 26 knockouts) required surgery to repair broken orbital bones following both of those defeats and his future hung in the balance tonight. “I’m back,” he bellowed to ringsiders and the 31-year-old boxer-puncher is certainly a welcome addition to the 154-pound division.

Tom Gray is Associate Editor for THE RING. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

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