Sheffield’s Kell ‘Special K’ Brook successfully defended his British and fringe WBO intercontinental titles with a victory over Michael Jennings – after the Preston-based fighter received a cut above the eye in the fifth round – at the LG Arena, Birmingham.Jennings was proving a tricky opponent for Brook, who sat behind his jab for much of the opening two rounds and landed a single solid right of note at the end of the second round.
However, a scything left uppercut in the fifth brought a premature end to Jennings’s challenge, opening up a cut above his left eye and forcing referee Terry O’Connor to call off the contest.
The victory extends Brook’s unbeaten record to 22 fights, of which 15 have ended inside the scheduled distance.
“My heart goes out to [Jennings],” said Brook after the fight, “everyone knows he’s a nice kid.”
The 24-year-old’s reward is, theoretically, a meeting with Filipino superstar and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao.
In the first fight of the night, Olympic gold medallist James DeGale completely outclass Carl Dilks, stopping the Liverpudlian in a single, brutal round.
The fight lasted just two minutes and 54 seconds, as DeGale’s hand-speed proved too much for Dilks, who was knocked out for the first time in his career by a straight left.
“I’m very happy, obviously I didn’t get out of first gear, but I’m happy,” said DeGale. “It’s a stepping stone. You didn’t hear him complaining about the stoppage, it was the right decision.
“I’m disappointed because I trained for 10 weeks and it was over so quickly.”
The victory takes the Londoner’s record to eight straight wins as a professional; with Commonwealth champion George Groves next up on DeGale’s agenda.
Also on the bill, Enzo Maccarinelli lost his European cruiserweight championship belt to Alexander Frenkel, after a brutal knockout in the seventh round.
The German first sent Maccarinelli crashing to the canvas two minutes and 30 seconds in the seventh round with a stunning left hook.
The Welshman was clearly in no state to continue the bout, but referee Erkki Meronen scandalously let the fight go on after delivering the eight count, and Frenkel promptly landed three sickening blows to Maccarinelli’s undefended jaw, leaving the champion in a heap and needing lengthy medical attention.
Manchester fighter Matthew Hall saw his hopes of claiming the vacant European light-middleweight title cruelly dashed by Lukas Konecny, after a brutal contest was stopped by referee Guido Cavalleri in the eighth round – with Hall down on the canvas for second time after a slick one-two from the Czech.
Konecny’s defence proved too strong for 26-year-old Hall, who announced his retirement after his 26th – and final – fight.
“He stopped with a good shot to the body and finished it with one to the head. That’s me now, I’m done,” he said.
British heavyweight champion Derek Chisora successfully defended his title against Commonwealth champion Sam Sexton, forcing the stoppage after a flurry of devastating punches in the ninth round, and Matthew Macklin reclaimed the European middleweight title when incumbent champion Shalva Jamardashvili threw in the towel after a fifth-round beating at the hands of Birmingham fighter
Finally, Nathan Cleverley stopped Karo Murat in an eliminator for the eliminator for the WBO light-heavyweight title.
Murat, unbeaten in 21 fights, was on the back foot for all nine rounds, before the ringside doctor called a halt to proceedings before the start of the 10th with the Armenian-born German fighter suffering from a cut on the bridge of his nose – inflicted in the seventh round. Eurosport
