MANCHESTER, England – It’s Brook!

The super-hyped all-British collision has ended with Kell Brook scoring an emphatic sixth-round stoppage of white-hot rival Amir Khan at the AO Arena on Saturday. The official time was 0:51.

Brook, a former welterweight titleholder, did everything but put Khan on the floor. The difference in power was decisive with Brook buzzing his man multiple times throughout the course of the fight. While Khan was brave, he was completely outmatched and battered from pillar to post.

“I’m so happy that I won’t be pestered about fighting Amir Khan anymore,” said Brook (40-3, 28 knockouts) during the post-fight press conference. “I’ll be remembered for this fight. Nobody will remember the other 42 fights. I’m just glad the chapter is closed.

“Do I want to carry on? I’ll speak to my mum and dad and we’ll see where we go. I feel like I’m 23 right now. I was first in the gym and the last to leave.”

Photo by Lawrence Lustig

It was a non-title bout between Brits with the atmosphere of a four-way unification between elite-level superstars. The noise was insane by the time the fighters got to the ring and the ear-splitting decibel levels brought back memories of Ricky Hatton’s glory days in this city.

The main event was actually delayed by several minutes due to an issue with Kell Brook’s gloves. Incredibly, just moments after entering the ring, the Sheffield star requested to have them removed and put on again. Brook was shaking his head in derision and seemed edgy. The distraction proved to be a moot point.

Khan seemed to score a psychological point early by having stablemate and conqueror of both men Terence Crawford in his corner alongside coach Brian McIntyre. As it turned out, Khan could have been doing with Crawford in the ring to help him rather than outside of it.

Khan, as always, was doing well at range in the opening round. His hands whizzed through the air in blurring flurries, but Brook remained composed and judged the distance well. With roughly a minute remaining in the opening stanza, Brook broke through and the Bolton man was shaken. Khan attempted to mask his plight by smiling, but Brook nailed him again and Khan was perilously close to going over.

The pattern was set.

It was only Round 2 and Khan wore the look of a damaged fighter. His pesky raids kept him safe for short periods, but anytime Brook touched the target, there was an immediate reaction and Khan looked troubled.

Again Khan was scoring well in the third and again Brook opened up with the harder more damaging shots. A cluster of hooks and uppercuts drove Khan into Brook’s corner and he was smashed with a punishing right-hand barrage.

There was a huge right from Brook early in Round 4 and all Khan could do was shake his head and pretend he wasn’t hurt. He was fooling no one – especially Brook. Khan gamely tried to turn the tide with a brace of eye-catching single shots, but Brook ignored them and continued to march forward.

For a fighter renowned for having a weak chin, Khan absorbed a tremendous amount of punishment in Round 5 and stayed on his feet. Brook walked through a few feeble assaults and unloaded with powerful hooks from both sides. It was becoming uncomfortable to watch and there were concerns around ringside for Khan’s safety.

A similarly destructive assault in the sixth left Khan woozy, and when Brook followed up again with a two-fisted assault, referee Victor Loughlin had seen enough.

Photo by Lawrence Lustig

This is the first fight Brook has won in two years. In February 2020, at home in Sheffield, the talented boxer-puncher dismantled Mark DeLuca over seven rounds in a junior middleweight bout. However, the only world title shot that Brook could secure after that was against welterweight king Terence Crawford, who scored a fourth-round stoppage over the Englishman in November 2020.

An emotional victory over Khan has breathed new life into Brook’s career. With that said, “Special K” said repeatedly during the press conference that he was focused on enjoying this victory and was non-committal about his future. Having achieved his goal of becoming world champion in 2014, at the expense of Shawn Porter, and now knocking off his biggest rival, retirement might be tempting.

Khan falls to 34-6 (21 KOs) and it’s difficult to foresee him securing another meaningful fight.

“Kell could hit and he was very strong,” said Khan. “I’ve done more in my boxing career that I could ever have imagined. I was an Olympian at 17 and a world champion at 21. I want to enjoy my family now.”

Tom Gray is managing editor for The Ring. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

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