In a battle between two hot unbeaten fighters, ?Showtime? Shawn Porter met UK?s Kell ?The Special One? Brook for the IBF welterweight title and for the chance to move one step closer to a fight with pound-for-pound king, Floyd Mayweather Jr. Porter (24-0-1, 15 KO?s) made a jump to the upper echelon of the 147lb division in his last two fights, first by defeating Devon Alexander in a 12 round fight and then stopping slick veteran, Paulie Malignaggi in just four rounds. Following those two wins, some fans were tabbing Porter to be a potential threat to Mayweather?s crown.
Standing on the opposite corner was the mandatory challenger for the IBF championship, Kell Brook (32-0, 22 KO?s). The unbeaten Brook had long waited for his shot at a welterweight title, but injuries had kept him sidelined. In just his second fight on US soil, Kell looked to prove himself in the world stage by dispatching of the highly touted Porter.
Round 1 got off to a quick start, both fighters looking to establish their jabs. Shawn Porter was the clear aggressor, lunging in towards the British fighter and looking to keep constant pressure. Kell Brook enjoyed a significant height advantage and looked to counter Porter whenever he made his darting attacks. At the end of the round, Brook connected with a clean looping right hand that seemed to stun the champ for a brief second.
Shawn Porter wasted no time in round 2, using his explosiveness to close the distance and make the fight into a more physical and rough affair. Kell Brook on his end was looking to keep the fight at a cleaner, more controlled pace. An accidental headbutt caused a cut over the left eye of Brook. Porter did some body work but ?The Special One? had the more accurate and effective attack.
In rounds 3 and 4, Shawn Porter picked up his intensity and outworked Kell Brook, especially when the two clinched up. ?Showtime? carried on with his body attack and winged many shots towards Brook ? many of which strayed to the back of the head. At no point did the UK fighter show any signs of discouragement and stayed consistent with his jab which did stifle some of Porter?s shots.
Rounds 5 and 6 saw Kell Brook find his range and have more success countering Shawn Porter, especially at range. The Ohio native carried forth with his wild approach, landing many cuffing shots to the back of his opponents head. There was a shift in the fight and more and more, Kell Brook was able to display his technical abilities. An accidental headbutt in round 6 opened a deep cut over the right eye of Porter.
Round 7 was fairly close, Shawn Porter opened up with a nice flurry of shots but Kell Brook finalized the round with a crisp three punch combination. A case could be made for either man winning the round.
Going into rounds 8 and 9, the champion was starting to lose some steam, which opened the door for Kell Brook to assert his own game. The effectiveness of Porter was dwindling by the minute, his shots were being smothered on the inside and Brook held a clear advantage anytime an exchange took part at long range.
In rounds 10 and 11, Shawn Porter attempted to switch up his gameplan by boxing more, but this was unsuccessful. Brook was looking stronger as the rounds went on and was able to pick the Ohio native apart. Kell landed a clean hook to seal the 11th round in his favor.
Both fighters came out firing in round 12, Brook trying to put a stamp on the fight and Porter attempting to do something that would see him retain his newly acquired belt. ?Showtime? went back to his physical attack and pressure enough to win him the round but it was not enough to salvage the fight for him. The judges scorecards read: 114-114, 117-111, 116-112, giving Kell Brook a majority decision win.
With the win, the future of Kell Brook looks bright, as there is no shortage of opponents for him to fight in the welterweight division. The fight that would make the most sense would be an all UK affair between himself and former junior welterweight champion, Amir Khan. The two fighters have traded insults for a number of years and with Khan always claiming that Brook would need a title to force the encounter, it seems Brook is now in the drivers seat when it comes to setting this intriguing battle.
If a fight between Brook and Khan can?t be arranged, then the handlers of Brook could then look to possibly setting up fights with interim WBA champion, Keith Thurman, or maybe even a bout with former WBO champion, Timothy Bradley. Both would be very interesting bouts, and match ups that could create a lot of action for the fight fans.
Another opinion that could of presented itself would of been a clash with Manny Pacquiao. A bout between Pacquiao and Brook would have been very interesting and one has to wonder if the team behind Pacquiao are not wishing they had held out on making a Chris Algieri bout, and put together a fight that would have had more PPV potential. Big fights aside, the performance that Brook had this past Saturday night shows the boxing world that there is a lot of big talent and great fights that can be made in the welterweight division.
