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Boxer Kell Brook has successfully defended his IBF Welterweight title after defeating Frankie Gavin at the O2 Arena.
Gavin gave Brook a few early problems, but Brook managed to contain his English rival, eventually winning in the sixth round following a heavy fifth where Gavin spent much of the time on the ropes.
Gavin, The former England amateur champion, turned professional in 2009, but he equally matched the reigning world champion in the early stages.
Brook’s experience soon started to show as he landed some heavy punches, dominating the second and third rounds respectively. But in the fourth, the slightly disfigured Gavin landed some short right handers against the current champion, leaving it wide open for the fifth round.
Despite those short punches in the previous round, Gavin was now on the back foot. Brook landed some more, tearing up his opponent’s face, and leaving him up against the ropes for much of the round.
Brook was given the win when a combination of a stern right hand and two uppercuts caused the referee to stop the fight, retaining Brook’s title.
After extending his unbeaten fight record to 35, Brook said; “I always knew it would be tricky.”
“I knew it was going to be scrappy. He’s awkward, he’s crafty, he’s smart.
“I knew I had to take my time, but I knew it was a matter of time until I nailed him.
“I could see he was tiring and I was landing heavy shots. I was testing my skills out and I got it done. Now I want to move on from this.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn said after the fight that a fight between Brook and former two-time world champion Amir Khan was extremely unlikely, with Khan to face Chris Allegri. Khan is also expected to face WBC, WBA and WBO Welterweight champions Floyd Mayweather, who said he’ll have one more fight.
In one of the nights other fights, Heavyweight Anthony Joshua demonstrated why he can become one of the greats as he defeated veteran Kevin Johnson in just the second round.
Johnson has previously never been stopped in 36 professional fights, including matching former Heavyweight world champion Vitali Klitschko, Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora.
But Joshua, who won the super heavyweight gold at the 2012 Olympic Games, struck Johnson with a vicious right hand early on, and knocked the 35 year old to the floor twice in the opening round.
But just over a minute into the second round, the referee called time following another siege of punches from the Olympic champion.
The 25 year old Joshua has now won all of his 13 paid fights, with all of them coming within the opening three rounds. It’s little surprise that the London based boxer is tipped to become a Heavyweight world champion.
