Brook Destroys Elwell, Eyeing Cotto & Jennings

By Nate Anderson: Undefeated BBBofC British welterweight champion Kell Brook (19-0, 12 KOs) was too much for Stuart Elwell (12-4, 1 KOs) on Friday night, knocking him down twice and stopping him in the 2nd round of a scheduled 12-round bout at the York Hall, Bethnal Green, in London. Brook, 22, making his 2nd defense of his British welterweight crown, knocked Elwell down twice in the 1st round with short left hooks to the head. In the 2nd round, staggered Elwell twice with hard right hands to the head.

After the second occasion, the referee Marcus McDonnell stepped in and halted the fight at 1:29 of the 2nd round. Elwell’s face was reddened and swollen from the punishment he had sustained from Brook in the short two rounds.

“I thought I gave a great performance,” Brook said after the fight. “I caught him twice in the 1st round. I stayed composed and finished the job. I’ve got my eye on Cotto and Jennings. I’m looking at them. I’m ready.”

Kell started off well in the 1st round, jabbing to the head and midsection of the southpaw Elwell. 30 seconds into the round, Brook caught Elwell with a short left hook to the head, dropping him to the canvas as Elwell was dashing forward trying to land a punch. After the knockdown, Brook stayed patient, not trying to rush things by going for a quick knockout.

He calmly jabbed away at Elwell, picking spots to land flush right hands to the head. A short time later, Brook again landed a short left hook to the head of Elwell, sending him down at 0:46 of the 1st round. This time, Elwell was clearly hurt and his legs didn’t look good in the remaining time in the round. Brook continued to land nice right hands and looking more for quality rather than quantity shots.

Offensively, Brook had a poor round, landing only two of eighteen punches attempted, whereas Brook landed eighteen of forty punches. Elwell had swelling under his right eye and his face looked beet red from the right hands, left hooks and jabs he had ate in the round.

In the 2nd, Brook stalked him around the ring, jabbing to the head and midsection. Early in the round, Brook landed a big right hand that staggered Elwell, causing him to clinch immediately. After Brook received a warning from the referee for giving Elwell a rough shove, Brook landed a left hand followed by two short right hands that landed cleanly, snapping Elwell’s head and staggering him badly.

The referee then chose to step in and halt the fight at 1:29 rather than letting it continue. Elwell wasn’t happy with the stoppage, although it’s doubtful he could have done enough to keep Brook from finishing him off.

Brook showed excellent poise in the fight, not going overboard like some fighters would have done if they had hurt Elwell as badly as Brook did in the 1st round. Brook’s short left hooks and right hands were awesome weapons. Though only 5’9”, short for a welterweight, Brook has the ability to get a lot of power on short punches on the inside. This will no doubt help him as he moves up against bigger and better welterweight competition in the future.

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