Kell Brook beats Amir Khan, what meant more than winning a world title for him.
This always looked to be a battle of who had what left. Brook has slowed, but he still looked solid and had his timing. Khan, on the back of a 2½-year lay-off, looked finished. He was rocked in the first round and looked booked for defeat thereafter.
Still, Khan was never down and he never gave up. For the last two rounds he took a steady beating from Brook until referee Victor Loughlin called a finish.
The prime time for Khan and Brook to have met was 2016. Khan was big in America then, having headlined in Las Vegas multiple times, while Brook was IBF welterweight champion.
The fight had been made at a catchweight of 10st 7lb (149-pounds), two pounds above the welterweight limit that Brook had struggled to make for years. He weighed half a pound inside it at the weigh-in, although he would be expected to be a couple of weight divisions higher by the time he stepped into the ring.
Nothing but class & respect 👏@SpecialKBrook 🤝 @AmirKingKhan#KhanBrook | @Boxxer pic.twitter.com/mGn7urliVS
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) February 19, 2022
Brook landed the first worthwhile jab of the fight, but Khan got through with a cluster of blows that had Brook covering up.
Then Brook got through with a straight left and Khan wobbled, his legs looked gone beneath him as Brook tried to follow up. Khan’s instinct was to fight back and he traded shots, but when Brook landed again, Khan was the one on unsteady legs and the pair clinched as the bell went.
Khan came out aggressively for the second, landing left jabs and rights over the top. Brook bided his time and when Brook got through with a left hook, Khan shrugged and fired back. There was no caution from either and as the second round ended, they gave each other a nod, the first sign of respect from the pair in years.
Brook again waited to pounce in the third and when Khan landed a good right, he opened up, leaving a way for Brook to fire back. A big right rocked Khan to his boots and he covered up for the first time. This time Brook was on him, hammering away as Khan tried to hold on and throwing Khan to the floor at the bell.
Settling the score, once and for all. @SpecialKBrook 😤
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 19, 2022
Khan’s attacks looked much wilder than they had done in their peak, Brook looked slower but not as vulnerable as some had feared. Brook prowled after Khan at the start of the fourth round. He waited to pounce and, as the ten-second warning came, he landed another good right that had Khan looking to hold again.
At the start of the fifth round, Khan looked in full retreat. Brook was after him, landing short right hooks and then a huge right down the middle. Khan took the lot, but there was nothing coming back. He took time to sit back on his stool but he was sent out again.
At the start of the sixth round, Brook went for the finish. Khan tried to hold but there was no escape and, as he tottered back to the ropes, referee Victor Loughlin came to Khan’s rescue.
Brook will believe he has more left.
