A bout of boxing for more than ten years finally flared up on Saturday night at AO Arena, Manchester when Kell ‘Special K’ Brook (40-3, 28 KOs) used years of fighting to stop it. Amir ‘King’ Khan (34-6, 21 KOs) in the sixth inning, the referee stepped in to save Khan from further penalty.
Speaking after the battle, Brook said: “I sacrificed a lot of time training for this battle, they won’t remember all my battles they will only remember me fighting Amir Khan. No disrespect to Amir, but it feels very easy in that, I’m glad this chapter is over on Amir Khan.
“This is the cake of my career, I can feel at peace knowing I beat him. Do I want to continue? I will sit down with my family and consider my future in the sport.
“I would want to have more than one clinical knockout, the same way Canelo did. But he’s amazing for the sport, he’s a two-time world champion for a reason and I’m glad we got to fight.”
The night of fight that fans have been waiting for proved its weight in gold when both fighters left everything on the ring on the night of the fight. Brook, a former IBF welterweight champion, put pressure on from the opening bell as he found every opening to hurt Khan.
The action opened in the first round as Brook kicked Khan in the leg multiple times, the crowd reacting with fear as Khan then fought back in response to his own painful punches. At the end of the third round, Brook attacked with his front foot, shoving Khan into the rope and hanging himself until the end of the bell.
Khan showed his fortitude and tenacity through the fifth round to stand up to the onslaught from Brook, but again it was ‘Special K’ who controlled the distance and tempo of the match. The correct right arm reached over Khan’s guard throughout the fight, and it proved the difference.
Kahn responded to a question about his future in the sport after the defeat, saying: “Maybe it’s time, I need to talk to my family. I just feel like I can’t get into a trench, that’s what I need to think about.
“The better man won, he had a great performance tonight and there is no disrespect to him because he came out to win.
“It was one of the best atmospheres I’ve ever fought in, the fans came out to watch a great fight and they got what they paid for.”
Manchester hosted a boxing night that will go down in history books.
At the top of the sub-action, Natasha Jonas (11-2-1, 8 KOs) became the new WBO ultralightweight champion with a brilliant second-half tackle against Christian Namus (25-7.8 KOs) in round two. The result delighted the Manchester audience as England declared another world champion.
Nampaw took down her opponent late in the first round with a perfectly timed right hook after a straight left stab through. Namus did not stay out of the shadows for long when, early in the second half, Jonas pressed again, forcing the goal to stop.
After losses to Katie Taylor and Terri Harper before the recent world title, Jonas can finally call himself world champion after jumping up three weight classes for a chance.
Earlier in a reckless act, captain Frazer Clarke of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Team, Frazer Clarke (1-0, 1 KO) marked his professional debut with an impressive technical save before Jake Darnell (0-1). Darnell’s corner was tough in the first half after a series of malicious attacks from Clarke.
The 32-year-old started his professional career in the heavyweight division flawlessly as the crowd pulled up in jubilation as the punches fell.
Hassan ‘The Hitman’ Azim had a dominating performance at AO Arena, Manchester as he beat MJ Hall (2-74-2, 0 KOs) via unanimous decision. The referee scored a 40-36 goal in favor of Azim.
Azim unleashed a barrage of punches throughout the match but still struggled to land the fatal blow to remove his man.
Like his brother, Adam ‘The Assassin’ Azim (3-0, 2 KOs) continued his youth career in emphatic fashion the night when he defeated Jordan Ellison (13-36-2, 1 KO) with a leaping left hook in the third round.
The 19-year-old displayed stylish ring dominance in the fight as he used the jab to set up a series of attacks on his opponent. Azim takes out Ellison at the end of the first round with a brutal shot and targets the body throughout the fight, delivering a knockout punch in the process.
Brad ‘The Sting’ Rea (12-0.5 KO) of Manchester caused a frenzy at AO Arena, Manchester when he knocked out Craig McCarthy (8-1-1, 2 KOs) in the first round with a left headbutt. Perfect landing on the tourist Irish.
Rea, who is training at Ricky Hatton’s gym, has proven his worth as one of the most exciting British boxers in 2022 with his slick and powerful boxing. The undefeated 23-year-old will be keen to return to the ring again as the domestic middleweight division continues to heat up.
Viddal Riley (5-0, 2 KOs) marked his first match under the BOXXER banner with a stylish unanimous victory over Willbeforce Shihepo (25-14, 18 KOs). Riley beat the Namibian in the first round with a well-timed top-right haircut, however, Shihepo showed heart as he lasted the scheduled six rounds.
Referee John Latham scored a 60-53 goal for Riley, a successful night for the cruiser class, who had fought in the UK for the first time in his young professional career.
Germaine Brown (12-0, 3 KOs) became Britain’s new BBBCofC super middleweight champion as he knocked out champion Charlie Schofield (17-2, 1 KO) through ten tight rounds to claim the win. by unanimous decision.
The judges scored 98-92, 99-92 and 98-92 all in favor of the 27-year-old from London in a match that proved to be a great domestic piece early night.
Amir Khan’s cousin was early on the bill as 19-year-old Abdul Khan (3-0.0 KOs) put on a stellar performance in his third professional bout when he beat Rocky Starkey ( 2-21-2, 0 KO) over four rounds scheduled.
The featherweight champion from Bolton nearly got his man out early when he dropped Liverpudlian Starkey in the first game. The match was scored by the referee 40-35 Khan.
Opening the card, Ibrahim Nadim (6-0, 0 KOs) continued his professional undefeated streak with a decisive decisive victory over Taka Bembere (1-23.1 KOs) in the super bantamweight division.
