By Nate Anderson: Undefeated BBBofC British welterweight champion Kell Brook (20-0, 13 KO’s) defeated a badly over-matched Michael Lomax (15-2-1, 2 KO’s) by a 3rd round TKO in the 3rd round on Saturday night at the M.E.N. Arena, in Manchester, England. Brook, 23, hurt Lomax with a hard left hand in the 3rd round and was teeing off on him against the ropes when referee James Davies stepped in and pulled the plug on the fight, stopping the bout at 2:41 of the 3rd.
Lomax, 20, was cut under the right eye and looked beaten at the time of the stoppage. However, he might have been able to make it out of the round had Davies not stepped in when he did. It seemed a bit premature at the time, but Lomax wasn’t landing many punches at the time of the stoppage.
Brook, ranked #6 in the World Boxing Organization, looked good in landing long right hands and jabs in the 1st round. Not a very big welterweight at 5’9”, Brook stayed on the outside and focused on throwing shots from a distance in the round. Lomax attempted over and over again to slug with Brook, but was caught with left hooks and right hands as he attempted to get inside on Brook.
Although taller than Brook at 6’, most of Lomax’s punches were picked off on the gloves of Brook and didn’t connect all that often. Brook showed a lot of versatility with his punches, using both hands equally and throwing with power with both of them.
Lomax got hit a lot in the first round. He went after Brook hard near the end of the round, but missed with three punches. In the 2nd round, Brook continued to rake Lomax with punches, hitting him with nice combinations and staying busy with his punches.
Brook showed good movement, shifting just enough to make Lomax miss with his jabs and left hands. Having seen Lomax easily defeat fighters like Ted Bami and Craig Dickson in the past, it was shocking to see how easily he was getting beaten by Brook. The fight was entirely one-sided, as Lomax wasn’t able to land anything of his own and just getting clipped over and over again by the more skilled Brook.
Except for a few punches landed early in the round, Lomax took a beating in the 3rd round from Brook. By this time, Lomax’s left eye was swollen and bruised from the shots he’d been getting hit with. Near the end of the 3rd, Brook hurt Lomax with a hard left hand to the head.
Brook then unloaded with an avalanche of punches as Lomax covered up on the ropes. Lomax’s left eye was cut during the flurry of shots from Brook. Now with Lomax bleeding and taking a terrible beating, referee James Davies stepped in and stopped the bout at 2:41 of the 3rd.
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Undefeated super featherweight contender Kevin Mitchell (29-0, 22 KO’s) struggled at times in the process of stopping journeyman Rudy Encarnacion (18-16-2, 8 KO’s) in the 8th round. Mitchell, 24, came rushing forward and landed a hard right hand in the 8th, hurting Encarnacion, 30, sending him backing away towards the ropes on unsteady legs. Mitchell then went after him and landed a series of left and right hand shots until referee Steve Gray stepped in and stopped the fight at 2:35.
Mitchell, ranked #1 WBO, #3 IBF, and #12 WBC, won every round of the fight with his more precise punching and higher work rate. However, he was hit by big shots from Encarnacion in many of the early rounds, and showed poor defensive skills. Encarnacion often ran at Mitchell throwing punches as he moved forward.
Most of the shots missed by a mile, but Encarnacion seemed to always land at least one of the big shots while coming forward. Encarnacion looked unskilled for the most part, but it was alarming to see how he was able to connect with shots against Mitchell.
And while it didn’t matter in the end because Mitchell won the fight, I can’t help wondering how Mitchell will do against the likes of WBO super featherweight champion Roman Martinez. At looking at Mitchell’s performance against Encarnacion on Saturday night, I wouldn’t give Mitchell much of a chance at beating Martinez. More than likely, Martinez stops Mitchell without too many problems. Mitchell would stand a much better chance against IBF champion Malcolm Klassen, where Mitchell is ranked at number #3.